Protecting Older People from Scams

I was taught to always respect my elders, but unfortunately, there are people in this world who do not feel the same way. Do you know if your older friends and family members are safe from becoming the victims of scams?

In order to help an older person protect themselves from fraud and scams, they first have to trust you and be willing to cooperate with the advice that you give them. If someone is reluctant to comply, do not let it upset you and do not become angry with them. Tell them that you are just trying to look out for their best interest. Some people are independent and are offended when other people try to offer them help. Respect their wishes.

If they do trust you and they do want your help, the first place to start is in their home. There are four areas of concern that many people leave vulnerable; their mail, their phone, their computer, and the doors to their home. Each area maintains the potential for scammers to gain entry and wreak havoc.

To make a person’s mail more secure, purchase a mailbox with a locking mechanism and key so that the mail delivered to them is safe and cannot be removed by anyone else. Check with their local post office and see how close to the person’s house the mailbox can be mounted. The further away from the street the box is, the safer the mail will be and it makes for a shorter walk. If possible, the person should drive outgoing mail to a mail drop box to send it, but if this is not possible, be sure they write any checks in permanent ink that cannot be washed from the check. Also they should not put outgoing mail into the mailbox until close to time for the mail carrier to pick it up. Online bill payment is a preferred method for the elderly to pay their bills if they have Internet access.

For telephones, Caller ID is an important feature to help someone know who is calling. They can use this feature to avoid irritating sales people and scammers. Visit the website for the “Do Not Call Registry” and add their number. A mobile phone may actually be a good alternative to a land-line phone for the older crowd because it can be placed in their pocket and taken wherever they go. If the person is hearing impaired, the vibrate feature of the mobile phone can help them to know when someone is calling. Also, they can use text messages to communicate if they are unable to speak. Mobile phones typically include Caller ID and the phone number is usually harder for scammers to acquire. If they do invest in a mobile phone or if you buy one for them, instruct them not to give the number to anyone. Another good rule of thumb is to have the attitude that “If I didn’t call someone, then I probably don’t want what they have to offer.” Be sure that the person you are assisting knows to never give personal information to someone over-the-phone unless they are sure that person is legitimate.

If the older person owns a computer with Internet Access, there are several precautions to take. They should have a good antivirus package as well as a firewall, email spam program, and a phishing filter for websites. Many of these tools are included with certain operating systems. Verify that they are equipped and functioning. Have a training session with the older person and discuss with them the techniques that scammers use to try to get information from people. Show them a few example emails and be sure they are able to identify threats for themselves. If they cannot, ask that they forward suspicious emails or websites to you.

Secure all entryways into the home with deadbolt locks and either a peephole or a security camera so that the occupant will always know who is knocking at their door. When strangers come to the door, instruct the person to ignore them unless they know them. No matter what the visitor says, tell them not to be intimidated and to call the police if the person persists. Securing all entrances will help them to avoid pushy salespeople who have no business bothering the elderly to begin with.

One last idea is to install a set of photoelectric sensors across the person’s driveway and connect the output to a buzzer or bell inside the home. This will let the person know they have a visitor well in advance of the person standing at their door and give the older person time to prepare.

Building a Kid-friendly Computer

Do you worry about your children using your computer? What trouble can they get into on the Internet? What harm could they do to your important data? Why not build them a computer of their own?

Build your children a computer using some inexpensive parts that you buy online or recycle an older computer. The child’s computer doesn’t have to be very powerful or loaded with memory. Just build something functional that they can call their own. If the hard drive is used, format it in order to wipe it completely clean. Install an operating system that you are familiar with. For this example, we will use Windows XP. Once the operating system is installed, remove all applications that your child doesn’t need. This should free up quite a bit of space and remove a lot of distracting icons. Install some fun children’s learning games and create shortcuts for them on the desktop.

Customize the computer to match your child’s tastes. Apply cool stickers to the computer case or even paint it a wild color. Adjust the screen resolution so that the text and icons are larger and easy to see. Change the background on the desktop to a colorful splash with some familiar cartoon characters that your children will recognize. Once you have everything set the way you like it, create a store point using System Restore. This is found by clicking the “START” button and going to All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore. Chose the option for creating a restore point and name the restore point description something easy to identify, like the current date. Now, if your child changes a critical setting by accident, you can restore the computer to perfect working order.

Take control of your child’s online experience. Buy a router and configure it with policies that restrict the times that they can access the Internet. For even more control, purchase Internet monitoring software that will block websites based on your criteria. Use Windows Remote Assistance software or one of many available remote access programs to monitor your children’s activities if they are located in another room or if their monitor isn’t visible to you. You can also configure your router to save a log file of the pages they visit that they cannot delete unless they have access to the router.

Password-protect your own computer and leave it logged off when you are away from it to encourage your children to use their own computer. Check the permissions on your computer and turn off sharing to the root of your hard drive. You will not have to worry about them accidentally deleting your files or infecting your computer with any malicious viruses. Let them have all the fun they want with their computer and if they mess it up, just reformat it and start all over.

Calling Friends and Family Over the Internet: A Magic Jack Review

Several years have passed since my family made the decision to begin exclusive use of mobile phones and abandon the traditional land line telephone to which we had grown so accustomed.  After countless interruptions by telemarketers and wrong numbers, it was nice to finally silence the land line phone in our home.  While we haven’t missed paying the monthly phone bill for that phone, we have begun to miss the convenience of the secondary line.  Many companies offering VOIP services emerged in the years since our conversion, including our cable/Internet provider, but the costs associated with installing an Internet-based phone have kept us at-bay.  Then we discovered the Magic Jack, or to give credit where it is due, we were introduced to it by a friend who simply adores it.

The Magic Jack is a small device that strongly resembles a USB flash drive, although it is slightly larger.  Using this device, one can make calls to any domestic or international, mobile or land line phone for only $19.95 per year at the time of writing.  The Magic Jack has a USB connection on one end and an RJ11 connection on the other.  The USB side connects to the computer and the RJ11 side accepts the phone cord that connects to your new desk phone.  We purchased a corded AT&T phone with caller ID separately to use with the device.  There is a clear window on one side of the Magic Jack that displays the internal circuits.  When it is plugged into the computer, a blue LED illuminates from within and gives the device a pleasant glow.  The total price that we paid was $39.95, which includes the first year of service for free, and the company will currently ship one or more device at no charge and allow you to try the service risk-free for a full thirty days before charging your credit card.  If you prefer buying products from a retail store, we discovered that it is available at the same price from Wal-Mart.

All necessary software is stored within the device and it prompts the user for permission to install when plugged-in.  The computer that we connected the Magic Jack to is running the Windows 7 Professional operating system.  Installation was very simple and quick, with the exception of advertisements for add-on services.  These prompts, which offered decisions like extending the number of years of service with a locked-in rate or ordering another device for friends and family, became a little tedious, but the final result was well worth the hassle.

At one point during the installation, you are prompted to choose the area code for the phone number that will be assigned to your Internet-connected phone.  It is possible to choose an area code for almost any part of the United States.  You technically could live in Florida and have a California phone number if you so choose.  We tried to find the area code that we are most comfortable with, but the closest was a neighboring county, which is fine because most people around here are familiar with it.  If you choose to pay extra, you can attempt to create a unique telephone number as long as it is available, otherwise one will be automatically selected for free.

Once the installation and configuration is complete, you are free to begin calling anyone in the world.  We completed several calls to our mobile phones and the sound quality was excellent.  Over the next few days the Magic Jack-connected phone was used to call several family members and even participate in a few company conference calls.   Each call was a pleasant experience.  One thing that we noticed, though, is that the computer must be logged-in to maintain an active dial tone.  If the computer is shut down or logged-off, the phone goes silent.  We found a solution to this problem that works for us.  The Windows feature that allows the computer to switch between users will deliver the user to the Windows log on screen and keep the phone active.  Also the screen saver feature that requires a log on upon resume will allow the computer to stay protected while leaving the phone active.

Overall our experience with the Magic Jack has been great.  We read all of the available reviews before purchasing the device and there are some people who are not satisfied.  A few in particular experienced problems while using a cordless phone, but we certainly have had no complaints using our corded one.  My family has given warm “welcome back” compliments to our familiar old trusty house phone; that is until telemarketers and political activists learn the number.