Scammers galore: Baby Boomers seen as prey, in the crosshairs

The name on the email just sent to me looks like it’s from my old high school buddy. But when I click his supposed email address at the top of the page, some weird email address pops up: Jaka.valencia@student.um.si.

Sure thing, like I’m going to click on the link attached to the email, even though he’s urging me to do so just because he has a happy surprise for me: “Six pictures that will bring back lots of memories to you – for sure!”

Then, my supposed old friend signs off with something he would never write: “Sincerely yours.”

Sure thing. Why not just walk off a mountain ledge and see if I feel pain.

Besides, back in the Stone Age, when we were hanging out, none of us had any cell phones, and the only one taking pictures was me, and I have all of those. So, no thanks.

What’s scary are the number of people out there in digital land who would actually click such a link without giving it much thought, if any.

Sure I’m a grandpa, but I still have most of my thoughts about me.

What happens when I’m a grandpa and my cognition is in serious decline?

Pray that never happens, but what if it ever does? How easy is it going to be for any of my family members to pry me away from this computer?

Not very easy at all. I’m sure I’d fight them every step of the way while happily clicking every link some two-bit hustler sends me, looking for gold, eager to please.

Hello, they hit the jackpot and just tapped into Wendorf the sucker, too old to even know he’s grown into a demented fool.

“This is my computer, damn it. Now leave me alone. And why is the bank account empty?”

Hope those days never happen. But this online scamming stuff is scary for the way it can ruin’s someone’s life, bank account, personal info, credit cards, etc.

Even if it’s not some sick perv playing a nasty joke with sick pictures, the email can be an attempt to place a bug on our computers, phones, tablets, where a malware virus can wreak all sorts of havoc, while stealing our private info.

Consider this – JPMorgan Chase, and other very large financial institutions like it, experience a massive volume of daily cyber-related activity, sometimes exceeding 45 billion attempts. In one day. (Source: Yahoo Finance.)

Seniors Also Targeted

Seniors have become the primary targets for the cyber criminals, according to the FBI. In fact, the people preying on the retirees are siphoning more than $3 billion annually from the Baby Boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964. This year, the oldest among that generation, my generation, turns 80.

If one’s thinking starts to slip, not quite as quick on the uptake as they once were, how will they handle these digital attacks that try, in relentless fashion, to get them to click on a link that can access personal records?

That same email mentioned at the top of this story has been sent to me daily for the past four days.

Ten years from now, will I still be thinking as clearly as I am now so that I recognize a big potential problem online?

“I don’t think you have 10 years left. Five maybe.”

Thanks.

According to the FBI, the scammers rely on a “technology gap,” knowing that for many who grew up with rotary phones and physical ledgers, 8-tracks, a professional- looking logo and a “from” email address from your bank, which looks official are enough to bypass suspicion.

“Click the link.” Surprise, and none of it is good.

Banks across the U.S. are sounding the alarm. They see the “high-pressure tactics” every day practiced upon their customers — emails that scream “Urgent” and demand “wire transfers” or some amount of cryptocurrency to resolve a supposed crisis.

“Do this immediately or your data will be temporarily locked.”

With AI, the scams have just grown exponentially, whether it’s a supposed email from a friend, your bank, the government, the endgame is always the same – click the link.

Don’t do it without first verifying who is actually sending you an email.

That should be obvious, but for a Baby Boomer who has lost a step, mistakes will be made.

“I didn’t mean to click it.”

It may take a separate phone call or email, but most people should never, ever click on a link without first fully vetting it to make sure it’s legit.

By the time you click the link, it’s often already too late.