Family Edition Digital Fraud Prevention Manual (Plain Language Guide)

Digital Authority-Based Fraud: Countermeasures

(Appearing as police, courts, banks, medical insurance, social security, etc.)

Fraudsters often use “official appearance” to create pressure, making people mistakenly believe that they have violated the law or that their accounts are abnormal. As long as you follow these four steps, you can avoid most scams.

1. Stop for a moment and stay calm.

When you hear words like “suspected of violating the law” or “account is abnormal,” don’t reply immediately, and don’t follow the other person’s pace. The stronger the sense of urgency, the more likely it is a scam.

2. Don’t provide any personal information.

Don’t tell your personal identity card number, banking number, and the verification code, and don’t allow any party to perform “remote assistance” operations on the phone.

3. Hang up unknown call number and reconfirm the official number.

Using the official customer service phone number to make a callback (saved in your mobile phone contacts) or asking family members to check the official customer service number. The authentic official institutions will never ask for a transfer of funds, nor will they conduct interrogations over the phone.

4. Don’t click any links, don’t scan any codes, and don’t download any unknown applications.

Don’t click on any links such as case inquiry, health insurance update, or bank upgrade, and not clicking or scanning is the most effective way to prevent scams.

Emotion-Driven Fraud: Countermeasures

(Using false identities as children or relatives, claiming to be in “urgent need” in order to ask for money)

Fraudsters often create anxiety by imitating the tone and address of family members, preventing the elderly from verifying the identity in time. The following four steps can help prevent being deceived.

1. Don’t act immediately when hearing an emergency call

“My phone is broken,” “I had an accident,” and “I urgently need money” are all common phrases, and don’t rush to believe them, nor should you rush to transfer the money.

2. Calling in another way to make sure (face videos) or using the original number to verify identity

Whatever the other party says, if it is a new contact number or new WeChat, first call your family’s original number to confirm; whether or not the connection is successful is not important; what matters is verifying the identity.

3. Don’t transfer funds or disclose information before the identity is confirmed.

Don’t transfer money just because the other party urges you to do so, and don’t provide your bank card information or verification codes either.

4. Contacting other family members to make a joint judgment.

If you can’t confirm it immediately, you can contact other children, relatives, or friends right away and ask them to verify the situation together, and multiple opinions are safer than a single one.

Family Member Assistance Methods

Family support can significantly reduce the risk of elderly people being deceived, and family members can help the elderly establish digital security through the following methods.

1. Advance agreement: “Whenever it comes to money, always ask your family first.”

This is the simplest and most effective approach, which can prevent impulsive and emotion-driven decisions.

2. Regularly check the mobile phone settings for your parents.

Delete unfamiliar apps, clear suspicious group chats, and place the most frequently contacted contacts at the top so that your parents can more easily get in touch with trustworthy people.

3. Teach parents to recognize warning signs.

For example: Unusual emergency calls, sudden addition of new contacts with unfamiliar numbers, requests for money transfer, requests to download software, etc.

4. Provide emotional support so that parents are willing to “ask.”

Let parents know that asking won’t cause inconvenience or embarrassment, and the more relaxed the family atmosphere is, the lower the success rate of fraud.