Elder fraud – where seniors are deliberately targeted due to lower tech literacy – is a growing problem in the US. According to Incogni’s analysis of FBI data, 72% of elder fraud cases in 2024 were enabled by victims’ personal data being exposed online, accounting for $4.2 billion in losses.
Family chat groups can be a goldmine for scammers, who use everyday updates to impersonate family members. A key tool is SIM swaps, where scammers use personal data to convince a mobile carrier to switch the victim’s number to a new SIM. This gives them access to SMS-based two-factor authentication codes and family chats, plus voice notes for deepfake speech.
To protect your family, first minimize online personal data by using a service like Incogni to remove it from data brokers. Second, enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on all messaging apps and social media, always choosing an authenticator app over SMS. Third, verify emergency calls by contacting the family member through a different method. Finally, agree on a secret family password to verify identity during urgent calls.
For a limited time, 9to5Mac readers can get 55% off Incogni subscriptions using the code 9TO5MAC.
Source: 9to5Mac · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing