Digital Fraud: What Puts Seniors At Risk And What They Can Do?

The elderly are more susceptible to digital frauds, but a little awareness and carefulness can keep them safe. Read on to know what can help them

- Meghna Maiti

*In August 2023, a gang of fraudsters, including a bank employee and an insurance agent, convinced a 63-year-old to sell off her house and transfer the proceeds to their accounts for investment purposes.

*In June this year, a bank executive was booked for siphoning off ₹67 lakh from a senior citizen's bank account in Mumbai. She had trusted her relationship manager to transact on her behalf and realised she had been duped when she needed to pay a hospital bill.

These are just a couple of instances of frauds against senior citizens in India reported by the media. While these involve elaborate plans by fraudsters to wipe off senior citizens' accounts, cases of digital frauds abound as well.

While India has made huge strides in digital adoption in banking and transactions, senior citizens who are gullible and are not that tech-savvy, are facing its ugly side.

According to the annual report of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for fiscal year 2022-23, the digital payment sector experienced the highest incidence of frauds within banks. There were 13,530 cases of frauds, up from 9,097 in 2021-22.

The banking sector, on its part, has also taken note of the rising instances of frauds targeting seniors and has implemented safeguards in place.

Says Madhivanan Balakrishnan, executive director and chief operating officer, IDFC FIRST Bank: "We have an extremely mature regulator that understands that it's a big risk in today's world. There are people who are using tech to attack, exploit by digging up your data. So, cybersecurity is very important. What banks are doing is reinforcing the mechanisms without making the journey painful. In this respect, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 is very important."

Despite the checks and balances, the senior citizen segment remains vulnerable to frauds.

What Makes Senior Citizens Susceptible To Frauds?