Over Sixty Winter 2022 Digital

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Expires 31/08/22 Scan here to receive $2 delivery at checkout Calls made by real people are particularly troublesome, as these people are skilled in the art of scam psychology Photo: Getty Images NEWS 03 Current affairs and events OPINION 08 Share your thoughts LIVE WELL 10 Health, diet and exercise YOUR MONEY 15 Financial health in retirement DOWNSIZING 17 Navigating the transition with ease LIFESTYLE 18 Reminisce, pets and garden ENTERTAINMENT 22 Celebrity profile, what’s on PUZZLES 30 Crossword, sudoku and more TRAVEL 35 Cruising, domestic and international travel CONTENTS Australia’snationalidentitysystemisbased on government-issued identity documents that carry certain value. You need it to open a bank account, but not to confirm an address for a parcel delivery. Calls made by real people are on another level because they are skilled in the art of the psychology of scams. “That person will be skilled at getting details of these government- issued identity documents out of people,” says Sundstrom. “People do fall for it.” High risk proof of identity documents Never disclose the following Australian or state-issued documents to a cold-caller or texter. Birth certificate 50 points Australian citizenship certificate 50 points Driver’s licence 60 points Passport 50 points Medicare number 40 points If a scammer gathers 100 points, your identity can be stolen and used to enter into loans, a line of credit or a credit card. Can the police assist? No. Phishing is the first step scammers use to get your personal information and identity information. Only once a scammer successfully secures your identity documentation and then proceeds to set up loans, credit cards or a line of credit, can the police become involved. What can you do? If you think you’ve fallen victim to a phishing call or text, call your bank and notify them. They will cancel the credit card, and place a warning on your accounts. Then contact one of Australia’s three credit rating agencies to request a temporary block on any credit checks that might be conducted in your name. If you do get a scam call, hang up immediately. Don’t engage. If you’re a victim of a scam and suspect your identity is at risk of being stolen – ormay have already been stolen – you need to act fast to avoidfinancial loss. Contact IDCare on 1800 595 160 – it is a free government-funded service that can assist with developing a specific response plan. * Name has been changed to protect identity LOUISE WATERSON NEWS Frompage 1 Having fallen victim to a phishing scam phone call, over the next two weeks Phyllis Hogan received a barrage of calls and texts to both her landline andmobiles. Somewarned her that her NBN would be cut off over the weekend and she needed to give personal details to confirm this didn’t happen. Others alerted that a parcel was ready for collection and she needed to give her Medicare details to confirm her identity. Normally a confident person, Phyllis became fearful her identity was being hacked. She switched off her mobile and screened all landline calls through her answering machine. Family reassured her that the NBN is a wholesaler and can’t disconnect her line, and as for the parcel, she knew she hadn’t purchased anything online. So why was Phyllis deluged? According to Kathy Sundstrom, an analyst from IDCare, a not-for-profit charity that provides free advice ondata breaches, scams, identity theft and cyber security concerns, Phyllis had fallen victim to a phishing scam. “The first interaction is a phone call or email, usually a mass automated message sent to millions of people hoping one per cent of people will think it’s real,” explains Sundstrom. “Scammers only need this one per cent for their efforts to be effective.” Last year, IDCare received over 100,000 calls for help from Australians concerned they’d fallen victim to a scam. Beware the Suckers List The scammer who called Phyllis was only partially successful, gathering up her date of birth, address, mobile number and Visa card number. But she didn’t give over any of her more valuable proof-of-identity documents, so more calls and texts were needed to try and get these. “The initial scammer knows she’s a good target,” says Sundstrom. They found out Phyllis lives alone, is elderly and trusting.The volume of scam calls that followed indicates Phyllis’s landline andmobilehadbeenadded to a Suckers List, which exists on the black web with other scammers now hoping to trick her into handing over her more valuable personal information to hopefully steal her identity. According to Sundstrom, the only option is to ride it out as the calls won’t last forever. Sure enough, after two weeks of nil responses, the scammers moved on. THREE GOLDEN NEVERS TO AVOID A SUCKERS LIST: • NEVER click on a link in a message from a number or address you don’t know. Amassive amount of malware gets downloaded to your phone or PC via those links. • NEVER answer a number you don’t recognise. Instead, let the call go through to voicemail. • NEVER share the numbers of your Government-issued identity documents to a cold-caller (or anyone!) . CONTACT US NEWS OverSixty is published by Direct Publishing Pty Ltd General Manager Rohan Scott Group Editor Louise Waterson Head of Digital Content Greg Barton Editor Zoë Meunier Ad Sales Director Sheron White Editorial Enquiries newspaper@oversixty.com.au Advertising Enquiries sheron.white@directpublishing.com.au Mobile 0421 897 140 Mail OverSixty, PO Box 6458, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086