It never goes without saying that no one, absolutely no one, is exempt from suffering a cyber attack, and anyone who believes that only businessmen, politicians, journalists and activists are potential targets of cyber hackers is very wrong. It is important for all people to know that they can be victims so that when surfing the Internet they do so carefully.
Recently, older adults have become the favorite prey of cyber hackers, according to the Cyber Police of Mexico City's Ministry of Citizen Security (SSC), because they are usually people who are not familiar with information technologies.
On average, three older adults in CDMX report cyber incidents such as fraud, harassment, extortion and identity theft, to the SSC Cyber Police Unit. Given this, the authorities identified the modus operandi of cyber pirates.
According to a statement, cybercriminals conduct social engineering to interact with potential victims and obtain personal, financial information or users and passwords. Mainly attackers pose as relatives in distress to deceive the victim.
The cyber police point out that in recent years, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, all people were forced to interact, buy, and more through the Internet, experiencing a sudden change from the physical to the virtual plane. In response, cybercriminals seized the moment to search for victims, mainly older adults, who have little experience on social media and internet platforms to defraud them.
They posed as family, friends, bosses, co-workers or employees of commercial companies or banking institutions. According to the authorities, the “likely perpetrators of the crime, send text messages to victims demanding overpayments or make threats, in order to access data and information on mobile devices and electronic equipment.”
The Mexican agency said that the most common incidents involving people over 60 years of age were:
- Fraude, 52 %
- Cyberbullying, 19%
- Extortion, 19%
- Phishing, 10%
The data were collected by the SSC, regarding older adults who requested support or guidance. The reports and the analysis of incidents correspond to reports from January to February of this year.
The cyber police point out that the crimes occurred mainly through:
- Phone calls
- Social networks
- Loan applications
- Product sales websites
- Online services
For all of the above, the authorities recommend that all electronic devices have up-to-date antivirus, use passwords and access controls to social networks of at least eight characters with letters and numbers.
Use passwords and social media access controls of at least eight characters with letters and numbers; constantly change passwords on all platforms used; verify the authenticity of websites accessed, but mainly not to give bank or personal details to third parties through unverified pages or by telephone.
Do not open links to unknown emails or messages (SMS) and always be wary of extremely good offers. Enable two-step verification for emails and instant messaging.
In the event that money is requested to release an alleged family member who was abducted, who has an alleged economic problem or accident, the authorities recommend:
- Stay calm and hang up immediately
- Contact your family member to confirm or deny the situation
- Do not make deposits at convenience stores or bank transfers
In the event of any unfortunate event, it can be reported to the ministerial authorities or to the emergency number 911.
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