Fraud and cybercrime cost Canadians $638M in 2024, with almost 40 per cent of that amount lost by senior citizens, warn officials
“Snake oil salesman” is a term coined in the 18th century to describe con artists who sold fake cure-all remedies. But scammers have been trying to separate people and their money with too-good-to-be-true pitches since the first coins were minted centuries ago in Turkey.
In the 21st century, faceless and sophisticated “snake oil” peddlers and deceptive scammers are using social media platforms to capture their prey.
And seniors are often their prime targets. This generation tends to be trusting because they remember a simpler time. They may not be computer challenged and not aware of how their information can be used for nefarious purposes. And in many cases, they have more money to lose than their grandchildren.
Victims of fraud and cybercrime in Canada lost more than $638 million in 2024, according to the Canada Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), and seniors lost almost 40 per cent of the total amount of money stolen.
Facebook can be an ideal hunting ground for bad actors. CAFC estimates $11.3 million in Canada was lost to “grandparent or emergency scams” on Facebook and Instagram in 2023. Fraudsters use stolen Facebook photos and AI-enhanced tactics such as voice cloning to pretend to be a relative in need of emergency money.
More than half of Canadian seniors have Facebook accounts, according to Statistics Canada, a platform where they stay in touch with their children, grandchildren and friends.
In addition, Facebook postings inform about events in the community, help people find lost pets and second-hand bargains, and link users with recipes and other special interest sites. People post death notices and even wedding invitations.
Facebook, rebranded as Meta, can be fun, entertaining and informative. Meta compiles data on users to create demographic lists. Advertisers then pay Meta to show advertisements to specific demographics, such as men aged 50 to 65 who play golf or senior women who like to travel.
Cambridge Analytica, a British consulting firm, collected millions of Facebook users’ personal data without permission in 2014 and 2015 through the “thisisyourdigitallife” quiz app.
In 2018 “The Guardian” reported Cambridge Analytica, which had worked with Donald Trump’s election team and the winning Brexit campaign, “harvested millions of Facebook profiles of American voters … and used them to build a powerful software program to predict and influence choices at the ballot box.”
So, is it best to avoid those harmless-looking data grabs such as the hard-to-resist quiz and survey scams such as “Who was your favourite ’90s band?” Or “Who is your favourite ’60s movie star?”
Facebook provides this warning, “Scammers use these quizzes to extract personal information used for security questions such as your mother’s maiden name or first pet’s name. Disclosing these details can lead to account takeovers and identity theft.”
It’s also very important to set the privacy settings on your Facebook account’s audience and visibility tab to “friends only” or “friends of friends.” If you don’t know how to do this in settings, get help from someone who does.
Last year, I was involved in planning a college reunion. Without trying too hard, I found my former classmates on Facebook. I learned where they lived, their marital status, employment history and saw photos of their houses, recent vacations and grandchildren. I read about their health issues and political leanings.
I got all that without having to “friend” them or even letting them know I was peeping because their Facebook privacy settings were left on the “public” default setting.
The public default also allows someone who does not have a Facebook account access to your information.
If your Facebook privacy settings are “public,” a voyeur can see all those cute photos of your daughter’s new baby, your grandson’s handsome baseball team and those darling pets. A potential thief can see your vacation or camp photos and know when your house is empty.
A Facebook peeper can also see your list of friends and is able to click to their pages if strong privacy settings are not in place.
I always laugh when officials tell me they can’t give me information for a story because of “privacy concerns.” So much personal information is already available on the internet.
Google searches are something I do as a journalist on a regular basis to find phone numbers and addresses or to see what someone I am going to interview looks like.
If you want to know how much of your personal information is available, do a Google search of your name. If you have a common name, add the city where you live.
Seniors are often embarrassed to admit they are victims of fraudsters. But if they think they are victims, they should contact their banks as well as the police or CAFC (1-888-495-850l).
(By the way, there are scammers out there claiming to be CAFC officials investigating scams in attempt to get your personal information, so be careful.)
Vicki Gilhula is a freelance writer. Prime is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
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