Senior citizens learn how to keep e-fraud at bay

Time of India

16 hours ago

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Kolkata: Senior citizens attended a cyber awareness session organised by Kolkata Police. Close to 500 senior citizens from across the city gathered at a cyber awareness and sensitisation session organised by Kolkata Police on Tuesday afternoon under their Pronam initiative, an outreach programme to ensure the safety and well-being of the elderly in Kolkata.
The session, which was in collaboration with Brainware University and was organised at the auditorium of the Police Training School, included live demonstrations and question-and-answer sessions on various aspects of cyber fraud, ranging from phishing scams to identity theft. Several senior citizens shared their personal encounters and sought advice on how to navigate the digital world safely.
Rita Bose from Ballygunge recounted receiving two suspicious phone calls from individuals posing as bank officials.
"The way they spoke raised my suspicion. The conversation felt scripted and rushed. I refused to share any information and hung up," she said. Debasish Majumdar, a musician from Hatibagan, said he once nearly fell for a scam call late at night. "But I soon realised that it was some sort of fraud and refused to share any details.
Bank officials do not call so late at night."
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Debabrata Sen from Jodhpur Park asked how he could keep his social media information secure.Experts from Brainware University advised him to keep his profile locked, avoid oversharing, and accept friend requests only from known contacts.
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Dibakar Ghosh from Bhowanipore said he never installs apps unless he is certain about their authenticity. Shyamali Mukherjee from Salt Lake asked how to verify if an email link is safe. Experts suggested hovering over links to preview the URL and checking for spelling errors, urgency in the tone, or offers they are making.
Bijoy Roy, a retired PWD engineer from Tollygunge, wanted to know whether it was safe to store passwords in a notebook.
Some attendees also asked how to report fraud attempts. The police team guided them to use the helpline number (1930) for any assistance.
Santosh Pandey, additional CP, who addressed the gathering, said: "We can avert 90% of cyber frauds if we use our common sense and remember a few basic things, like not sharing personal information online or with strangers. Kolkata Police is committed to ensuring that its senior citizens stay informed and protected in an increasingly digital world."
Kolkata: Senior citizens attended a cyber awareness session organised by Kolkata Police. Close to 500 senior citizens from across the city gathered at a cyber awareness and sensitisation session organised by Kolkata Police on Tuesday afternoon under their Pronam initiative, an outreach programme to ensure the safety and well-being of the elderly in Kolkata.
The session, which was in collaboration with Brainware University and was organised at the auditorium of the Police Training School, included live demonstrations and question-and-answer sessions on various aspects of cyber fraud, ranging from phishing scams to identity theft.
Several senior citizens shared their personal encounters and sought advice on how to navigate the digital world safely.
Rita Bose from Ballygunge recounted receiving two suspicious phone calls from individuals posing as bank officials. "The way they spoke raised my suspicion. The conversation felt scripted and rushed. I refused to share any information and hung up," she said. Debasish Majumdar, a musician from Hatibagan, said he once nearly fell for a scam call late at night.
"But I soon realised that it was some sort of fraud and refused to share any details.
Bank officials do not call so late at night."
Debabrata Sen from Jodhpur Park asked how he could keep his social media information secure.Experts from Brainware University advised him to keep his profile locked, avoid oversharing, and accept friend requests only from known contacts.
Dibakar Ghosh from Bhowanipore said he never installs apps unless he is certain about their authenticity.
Shyamali Mukherjee from Salt Lake asked how to verify if an email link is safe. Experts suggested hovering over links to preview the URL and checking for spelling errors, urgency in the tone, or offers they are making.
Bijoy Roy, a retired PWD engineer from Tollygunge, wanted to know whether it was safe to store passwords in a notebook. Some attendees also asked how to report fraud attempts. The police team guided them to use the helpline number (1930) for any assistance.
Santosh Pandey, additional CP, who addressed the gathering, said: "We can avert 90% of cyber frauds if we use our common sense and remember a few basic things, like not sharing personal information online or with strangers. Kolkata Police is committed to ensuring that its senior citizens stay informed and protected in an increasingly digital world."
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