From left: Vodafone customer Peter Kelly with Vodafone employee Jack Moran. Image: Naoise Culhane Photography
Vodafone Foundation Ireland said the new module will offer tips to protect older people from fraud, after a recent report warned about the rise of investment scams targeting those older than 55.
Ireland’s Vodafone Foundation has unveiled a new support service to prevent older people from falling victim to scams.
The organisation said it has updated its Hi Digital platform – a course to teach people digital skills – with a new module called ‘Identifying Scams and Frauds’. As the name suggests, this module aims to help older people spot scams and offers tips to protect themselves from the risk of online fraud.
The module will also offer advice to people who have fallen victim to a scam. The Vodafone Foundation said this module follows a report from FraudSmart – a fraud awareness initiative – that claimed authorised push payment (APP) fraud rose by more than 25pc in the first half of 2023.
This type of fraud is when someone is tricked into sending money to an account controlled by a criminal. The FraudSmart report claimed victims were conned out of €8.6m in the first half of last year – sometimes by sophisticated variants of this type of scam.
This report also warned that these scams were mainly investment scams targeted at people who are older than 55, with the size of the amount scammed out of customers reaching between €50,000 and €600,000 in some cases.
Vodafone claims its Hi Digital training events had older people frequently voice apprehensions about falling prey to scams, as many of these attendees either encounter these scams regularly or know someone who has been impacted.
Liz Roche, head of the Vodafone Ireland Foundation, said the new module is “truly significant” as scams have been a “key concern” for older people coming to Hi Digital events looking for practical support.
“We are delighted to see our Hi Digital platform evolve with the introduction of the scams and frauds module,” Roche said. “Empowering older generations with the knowledge and tools to navigate the digital world safely is at the core of what we do, which is why we are thrilled to be providing this extra support.”
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