Older people are “too intimidated” to get help with online scams, despite the surging amount of cyber crime, new research from BT Group suggests. The telecoms giant has joined forces with actress Melanie Walters, best known for playing Gwen in the sitcom Gavin & Stacey, to encourage over-65s to seek support amid a rise in such attacks.
More than half of over-65s worry they could fall victim to an online scam, and nearly nine out of ten want more guidance on how to spot and avoid them, according to the research. Scammers are already targeting older people, with 44 per cent of those aged over 65 saying they have been targeted more than ten times.
However, one in five people feel “too intimidated” to attend technology classes that could help them counteract the threat. The findings highlight a barrier to digital literacy at a time when scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Actress Melanie Walters shared her own experience of being targeted last year, saying she nearly lost thousands of pounds. “What struck me the most was how sophisticated the scam was,” she said. “I began when I received an email warning me that the image data I had used to open my new business account had become compromised... A month later a letter arrived from a different bank, saying someone had tried to open an account in my name.”
Walters took part in a tech class aimed at helping older people spot potential scams, which also warned about the rise of artificial intelligence being used to clone voices and create more sophisticated attacks.
