Improving safety of seniors online

A consumer group for older Australians has welcomed a recent report  which recommends a raft of new measures to improve the safety of seniors using the internet.

The report by The Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety titled, Cybersafety for Seniors: A Worthwhile Journey, made 13 recommendations as part of its inquiry into keeping seniors safe online.

The committee found that many seniors have a legitimate fear of cybercrime and they need to build up their confidence before going online.

This backs up National Seniors own research which shows one of the top three barriers to older Australians going online are concerns about security and viruses (64%).

National Seniors Australia chief executive, Michael O’Neill, agreed more needed to be done to protect vulnerable seniors online.

“These recommendations provide for increased protection from scams and fraud,’’ Mr O’Neill said.

“These include increasing the awareness of kiosks available to seniors for training and education, user friendly websites with graphic tutorials, as well as better consumer protection, regulation and enforcement.

“We hope that all recommendations are implemented as it would not only better protect seniors but also increase awareness and confidence of older people who use the internet.”

Research shows people aged 55 years and older account for four out of 10 victims of cyber fraud scams in Australia.

National Seniors also believes funding should be made available for a national research project that assesses online fraud and the victimisation of older Australians.

In its submission and participation in the Cyber-Safety Inquiry last year, National Seniors called on the government to better educate seniors on scams, and called for increased funding for training and awareness of cyber security.