Senior Living News

Many older adults are familiar with email and may use it regularly to keep in touch with others, manage personal business or get VIP details about sales at favorite stores. But while email is familiar to many seniors who have no problems sending, receiving and reading emails, the growing number of ways scammers, marketers and others use these tools may not be as easy to sort out.

Learn how to stay safe when using email by understanding the intent behind some scary-sounding emails and what you should do about them.

Marketing Emails

Businesses and brands often send emails to existing and potential customers to foster brand awareness or try to sell products or services. Reaction to these emails typically ranges from welcome — of course, you want BOGO sandwiches at your favorite local deli — to annoyance — why is this clothing retailer sending you yet another ad?

But in certain cases, marketing emails can cause concern if companies use fear tactics to sell their goods. Emotion-based marketing is a tried-and-true method used by many advertisers through the years. If someone can connect their product with your emotions, they have a better chance of making the sale. Fear is a powerful driver in this respect.

Here are some examples of email marketing subject lines or topics that use emotional connections via fear:

• The money in your bank won't be good for long! (advertising alternative investments such as gold)
• If your computer isn't protected, you're inviting criminals to steal from you. (marketing virus protection software or other technology products)
• Is your dinner plate sending you to an early grave? (advertising diet or nutrition services or products)

When you receive these emails and feel yourself responding in fear, remind yourself about the intent behind the email. These companies have a product to sell, and they want you to buy it — they don't actually know you or your lifestyle and can't make accurate predictions about such outcomes.

If you're still a bit worried after reminding yourself that it's a sales gimmick, reach out to someone who does know you to discuss what you're worried about. Residents at Bethesda Gardens assisted living community in Loveland can talk to their neighbors, caring staff or friends and family about their actual technology, nutrition or lifestyle needs.

If marketing emails are too annoying, don't be afraid to unsubscribe. Any legitimate company sending marketing emails provides an option to do so — although it's often buried at the very bottom of the email.

Common Scam Emails

Of course, everything that makes it to your inbox doesn't necessarily come from a legitimate company. Spammers and scammers don't follow the rules that legitimate businesses do, so you must take care with these types of emails.

Common email scams include:

• Emails that say they're from an official institution, such as the IRS or police department, and ask for information or money
• Emails made to look like they come from your bank or another financial provider that ask you to click a link and log in
• Emails offering services, rewards or prizes that require you to click links to enter your financial information

To avoid issues with scam emails, follow some basic safety tips:

• Don't click links in emails. If you need to log in to your bank, go to the website the way you normally would by typing the URL into your browser or clicking on a safe link you previously set up. If you use a mobile device, click on your app link.
• Don't respond to emails from so-called official entities. Instead, call your bank, the IRS, the Social Security Administration or whatever other agency seems to be associated with the email. Don't use the phone number in the email, as scammers often set up fake phone numbers. Instead, use the phone number you find on the official website or that you've previously used for customer service matters.
• Never respond to an email with your financial information. The IRS, your bank and even retailers don't send emails asking you for credit card or bank information — or any personal identifying information, such as your Social Security number.
• Check the email sender. Click the dropdown option (usually a little down arrow near the name of the sender or recipient of the email) to see the email details. If the sender's email address looks odd, it's probably a scam. For example, joesomeone@123123123smithbank.com is likely a scammer or spammer — Smith Bank employees would likely have email addresses without all the numbers.

Let Technology Help You With Email

Most email providers offer spam filters that are designed to filter out potential scams and unwanted emails. While an email you actually want to see might occasionally fall into the spam folder, these filters are pretty good at their job. In many cases, email filters are better at identifying junk mail and scams than someone who's nervous about dealing with email.

So, if something ends up in your junk folder, you can usually safely ignore it, removing the potential worry from your day. If it's important, someone will eventually reach out again via email or phone anyway.

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