Print this. Put it on the fridge. It takes five minutes and could save everything.
Elder fraud is a $81.5 billion annual crisis. This checklist covers practical steps to protect your parent online, on their phone, and at home.
☐ Enable spam call filtering. iPhone: Settings, Phone, Silence Unknown Callers. Android: Phone, Settings, Filter spam calls.
☐ Remove unnecessary apps. If they do not use it, delete it. Every installed app is a potential attack surface.
☐ Set up two-factor authentication. Email, bank, Apple/Google account. Stops 99% of account takeovers.
☐ Turn off in-app purchases. Prevents accidental or coerced purchases.
☐ Set up bank alerts. Every transaction over $100 triggers a text alert.
☐ Freeze credit reports. Equifax (800-685-1111), Experian (888-397-3742), TransUnion (888-909-8872). Free, reversible, effective.
☐ Establish a "call before you send" rule. Any request for money gets a mandatory family call first. No exceptions.
☐ Check for PII protection. Does any AI app block personal information from being stored or transmitted?
☐ Verify no link-sending. Any AI companion that sends URLs is a phishing risk.
☐ Ask about romance guardrails. AI products that allow romantic interaction with elderly users are a liability.
☐ Review family dashboard features. Can you see engagement without reading private conversations?
☐ Post a "no soliciting" sign.
☐ Shred financial documents.
☐ Talk about it without shame. "Have you gotten any weird calls lately?" asked casually and regularly normalizes the discussion.