Seniors from Embrun took part in a scam prevention conference organized by the gendarmerie this Thursday, October 3. Objective: teach them not to fall for scammers.
“If someone calls you and you don’t know the number, let them put their message. It costs you nothing!” says Jean-François Blanc, the gendarmerie officer, cyber defense referent for the Hautes department. -Alps,
This Thursday, October 3, he and several colleagues hosted a conference in Embrun in front of around twenty seniors so that they do not fall victim to scams.
Easy but not exclusive targets
If older people appear to be easy targets for scammers, they are not the only ones to fall for it: “60% of people say they are aware but at the same time, we have 60% of people who are scammed” , explains Jean-François Blanc.
“Bringing the word of awareness and prevention closer to the public will allow these citizens to no longer be easily defrauded,” insists the gendarme.
Cybersecurity, fraudulent SMS…
All categories of scam are reviewed to provide participants with a complete picture of the risks: burglaries, cybersecurity, fraudulent SMS messages… The current pet peeve is none other than cold calling.
“At the moment, it’s a lot of mutual insurance companies. On Monday, we had a lady who told us that she had subscribed to three different mutual insurance companies. She didn’t sign anything, but they managed to do electronic signatures, we doesn’t know how”, says Meritxell, adjutant at the family protection center in Embrun.
Asked what they learned from the advice given, the seniors present mentioned in particular the need to “step back when we have the impression of being attacked on the Internet”, the fact of “going towards the people who provide information: France services and the IT services that are at our disposal.
A new training conference for older people is planned for next year.
