In a packed council chamber in the town hall in Vlijmen, the police gave tips to the elderly on Wednesday not to kick internet fraud. No superfluous luxury, because many people are the victims of scams and especially the elderly are vulnerable. But these people over 65 turned out to be well informed and are alert.
Neighborhood agent Femke Slaats is full -time fighting and warning about scams on the internet. She shows a video in the packed council chamber. In it an older man receives a message from his granddaughter, whether he would like to transfer 1500 euros for the rent. Grandpa does not trust it and calls his granddaughter, who knows nothing. The message is clear: call a person or company if you do not trust a message.
The police regularly keep these types of information meetings and that is not for nothing. The elderly in particular often fall for it. According to Femke, that is because the story of the scammers seems so real that it cannot be distinguished from fake. There are plenty of examples: “People who come to the door like fake agents. Or people who first call by telephone as a ‘help desk’ and then collect jewelery or a debit card at the door,” says Femke.
The videos with examples of internet scams show that it is often a seemingly neat men that you would not think are crooks. An example: a neat man comes to the door to deliver a package, but asks if the recipient wants to pin a small amount to pay the postage costs. Scams, because they want your bank details.
The elderly who came to the meeting in Vlijmen appear to be surprisingly well informed of the dangers of internet scams. “We are alert,” they say. Some say regularly Phishing mails to get. Fake emails from companies that want data from you and want to drag your money. “But we don’t recognize those emails and do not fall for it,” says a couple.
The most common fraud that Femke encounters is to ask for money via WhatsApp. Tik tok, Facebook and Marktplaats are also used for scams. “Most we take as a police are money donkeys. People who want to earn money quickly. But also scammers are getting smarter and often work from abroad.” A warned person counts for two and the police have their hands full on the internet scams.
To prevent the elderly from being scammed, Femke has some tips:
1: Not called, no money. If you get a message from a person or company who asks for money, call them personally to hear if it is true.
2: If you are called, look at the telephone number. Is it a well -known number or is it possible for a criminal?
3: If something is too good to be true, it is usually that too. So if you get something ‘free’, then it is not true nine out of ten times.
4: Listen to your gut feeling. If you feel that something is wrong, then it is probably the case.