In the UK, most seniors now use the internet. Seniors should be aware of these online safety tips to ensure they'll be browsing the internet securely.
It is a simple way to stay in touch with family, manage appointments, get medical information, access medical records, renew prescriptions, and access the most recent news. We must take our elderly family members' internet safety seriously.
Accessing services and interacting with people has become more convenient and straightforward thanks to the internet. However, it is also home to con artists looking to defraud unwary users of their money.
Additionally, many cyberbullies and stalkers can disturb your online experience. Some might even violate your privacy if they learn about your residential information. Seniors should therefore be aware of the precautions they can take to ensure their online safety.
1. Online Safety Tips? Keep Your Passwords to Yourself
Passwords act as a gate pass to restrict access to sensitive information, protecting the privacy of your personal information. Even though it makes sense that you might be eager to share them because you're having trouble remembering the details or navigating the websites, you should only give such information to someone you can trust to manage your accounts.
This safeguard will stop phonies from bilking your loved ones by inventing emergencies and requesting money in your name. Protecting important financial data will prevent those looking to steal your life savings and retirement benefits.
Additionally, your password should have more than eight characters and include numbers, letters in both upper- and lowercase, symbols, and other characters.
2. Set Privacy Preferences
Before posting anything, you must read and comprehend any social media website's privacy policies and settings. Most social media platforms have privacy settings that let you control who can see your information.
For instance, Facebook offers a variety of settings that let you limit who can see your posts. You could decide to share it with everyone or just your friends. Most social media platforms allow you to choose between private and public positions, with the former going to specific people.
3. Take Caution With What You Share
No matter what you post online, whether it's a text post, video, or picture, it all represents you. Anything you post online should make you feel good about being linked to it, so don't post anything you wouldn't be willing to share with the world. Although you might have adjusted your privacy settings, there is a good chance that others will copy and share your post.
4. Report Abuse
Always report any online abuse, whether it comes from friends, family, or caregivers. Cyberbullying occurs in cases involving kids, adults, and even seniors. Do not reply to threatening texts sent to you by any internet platform or service; contact a trusted friend, adult protective services, or law enforcement instead.
5. Avoid Clicking Links Immediately
Be cautious when clicking links on web pages or social media platforms. If you're not confident they come from a reliable source you can trust, stay away from clicking on any of these.
6. Only Purchase from Reputable Online Retailers
If you enjoy shopping online, it's best to stick with trusted online merchants. You should avoid any online stores you haven't heard of. Most of these odd retailers want to steal credit card information or sell fake goods.
7. Frequently Use Credit Cards
Never use cash, money orders, or cashier checks to pay for anything online. To ensure your financial security, use credit cards or even PayPal as alternative payment methods. Credit cards protect your money by allowing you to challenge charges if your identity or financial information is compromised.
8. Use Only Secure Websites
Verify the security of the website you are using. You can find out by looking for "HTTPS" in the browser. The letter "s" denotes a secure website. However, if you see a web address without the "s," such as "HTTP," that suggests you are using the site at a high level of risk.
9. Do Your Research Before Making an Online Donation to a Company
For seniors, emails and targeted online advertisements can be overwhelming. Therefore, if you ever receive an email or an ad, it's crucial to do your research before donating.
More importantly, charities offer online donation options. Before entering your sensitive financial information, ensure the charity you want to support is legitimate.
10. Develop the Practice of Consistently Checking Your Financial Accounts
Seniors may not become aware that their financial information has been compromised until things get out of hand. To avoid such a situation, the best internet safety advice is to keep an eye on your financial accounts.
You will be able to recognize a warning sign in the event of any suspicious transactions. You can cancel any credit cards linked to the account to prevent further fraud.
Conclusion
Most senior citizens in the UK now use the internet. Staying in touch with family, managing appointments, getting medical information, accessing medical records, renewing prescriptions, and keeping up with the latest news are all made simple with the internet. We must take the online safety of our aging family members seriously. Follow the online safety tips mentioned above.
One of the ways to monitor a senior is through GPS tracking. The CPR Guardian fall detection watch features GPS tracking.
CPR Monitoring APP comes with the CPR Guardian III personal alarm for elderly or a fall alert watch. It is a personal alarm linked to mobile phone. Family and Carers can monitor the location and wellbeing of the wearer remotely by using the CPR Guardian mobile app.
The app can also send alerts whenever the wearer enters or leaves a Geo-Zone. Wandering off Is no longer an issue. Family members or carers can track the wearer's location at any time using the "CPR monitoring" mobile application. The fall detection watch monitors the wearer's heart rate every 10 minutes and sends this data directly to the CPR Monitoring APP.
The CPR Guardian, Personal Alarm Watch with Fall Detection is a simple-to-use personal alarm watch with fall detection, GPS tracking, and an emergency SOS button that enables the user to notify family and friends in an emergency. Please get in touch with us if you need help.
