Fraud has become the most common crime committed against seniors in Canada. Despite the highly publicized nature of the crime, it continues to be a serious – and growing – problem in the age of technology.

Today in The Conversation Canada, Annie Lecompte from Université du Québec à Montréal explains why fraud against seniors is on the rise and how they can better protect themselves against it.

As Lecompte explains, scammers often target seniors because they tend to be more socially isolated and are therefore more likely to respond to unexpected calls, emails or texts. Seniors are also less likely to be comfortable with technology, a fact that scammers are quick to exploit.

Lecompte suggests a number of ways seniors can protect themselves, including avoiding sharing personal information over phone, email or text, ignoring unsolicited offers and visiting financial websites directly by typing in web addresses instead of clicking on links received in emails or messages.

However, Lecompte emphasizes that individual efforts alone are not enough to fully protect seniors from fraud, and collective community awareness and support is also crucial. She writes: “In the long run, it is only by combining prevention, education and solidarity that we will be able to truly limit the impact of this fraud, and offer seniors the protection they deserve in an increasingly digital world.”

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