Churches urged to help protect seniors from tech fraud

Founder of the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons Jean Lowrie Chin is calling on the church community to assist with protecting the elderly against fraudsters who target them via technology.

Speaking with THE STAR yesterday, Chin said the elderly are often vulnerable and are easily targeted by fraudsters due to their lack of knowledge of technology.

"There are young and old in churches so I believe some of these young people could have sessions with the elderly on how to use technology including their smartphones. Within our organisation, we have a digital consultant who runs a session with the elderly where they teach them to use their smartphones. So this way, they can save their pin number and lock it so nobody can pick up their phone and find him," she said.

Last Thursday, the police arrested and charged a 34-year old man with a card switching scheme targeting elderly citizens across Kingston and St Catherine. The man, who was slapped with charges of unauthorised access to computer data, simple larceny and possession of identity information, reportedly frequented ATMs looking for elderly individuals who appeared to be experiencing technical difficulties. He then approached them under the guise of providing assistance, switch the victims' bank cards for dummy cards, and steal funds from their accounts until they were depleted. One victim lost more than $300,000.

In addition to strangers, the senior community are sometimes targeted by their loved ones who drain their bank accounts. But, Chin said this could be prevented by the use of a trustworthy individual from within the congregation.

"We have heard of instances where persons are robbed by their own family members, so that is where the church should come in to give assistance, because is not all the time that you can trust your family. As long as the church family is tried and true, they could also step up. A lot of our elders are the ones who build the churches, so the churches owe them in their old age to help them navigate technology," Chin said.

As Jamaica moves closer to being a cashless society, Chin said the elderly do not have to be left behind. She stated that their ignorance to technology could be cured with education and awareness.

"I know an elderly woman who was just shut down with technology and decided that she was not even going to use WhatsApp and then a younger relative showed her step by step and now she is constantly on it," Chin said.