For Sara V., a Facebook message that initially seemed friendly arrived at an especially vulnerable time. Shortly after she was widowed, someone claiming to be a well-known professional athlete began contacting her regularly. Then the person asked for money.
Sara’s experience illustrates how quickly an everyday online interaction can become confusing and potentially harmful. For many older adults, getting online is only the beginning. Knowing how to protect personal information, recognize a potential scam and decide whether a message can be trusted may determine whether technology feels empowering or intimidating.
A 2025 report from the FTC showed that adults 60 and older claimed $1.18b lost to scams and fraud over the previous year, highlighting the growing importance of providing older adults with resources and support to stay safe online.
That’s why AT&T works alongside collaborators such as Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP to help older adults develop practical technology skills. Through its flagship program, Senior Planet from AARP, OATS offers courses, workshops and resources designed around how older adults use technology in their daily lives.
This work is especially relevant during Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Online scams continue to evolve, including fraudulent emails and texts, impersonation, romance scams, and AI-generated content. Helping older adults understand these risks can give them the confidence to benefit from technology while navigating the digital world more safely.
Technology Training Built for Older Adults
Senior Planet programs provide supportive settings where older adults can ask questions, practice their skills, and learn alongside others with similar experiences. Many of these courses take place in collaboration with local community organizations and AT&T Connected Learning Centers nationwide.
Online safety is embedded throughout the Senior Planet curriculum. Participants learn to identify scams, protect personal information, and practice safer online habits while developing everyday skills such as using email, navigating websites, and downloading apps.
Senior Planet also offers programs focused on scams and fraud, privacy settings, strong passwords, password managers, passkeys, and virtual private networks. Other sessions help participants evaluate AI-generated misinformation and understand how AI can create convincing voices, images, and videos.
For older adults who can’t attend in-person workshops, Senior Planet offers dozens of free online courses led by OATS experts. Covering topics such as smartphone skills, password security, online safety, and navigating artificial intelligence, these courses help participants build digital confidence and stay safer online—all from the comfort of home.
“Online safety is an important part of helping older adults feel confident using technology,” said Marisa Giorgi, vice president of programs at OATS from AARP. “At OATS, core to the work we do is that we want older adults to have the skills and knowledge they need to navigate the digital world safely and independently.”
Helping older adults build digital skills while focusing on safety is one example of how AT&T and OATS work together to make technology more accessible in an increasingly online world.
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