7A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

The Opportunity 

I have a strong belief that the elderly population in the U.S. is more likely to fall for phone and email scams because communication technology is advancing faster causing knowledge gaps.

Who: The U.S. elderly population
What: More likely to fall for phone and email scams
Why: Due to rapidly advancing communication technology causing knowledge gaps of scam tactics

The Interviews

1-- Walgreens employee

2--Telecommunications student

3--Senior citizen

4--T-Mobile representative

5--Federal Trade Commission (FTC) representative

Summary

The individuals I interviewed were very knowledgeable of the issues surrounding phone, text, and email scams (aka phishing). Some were in charge of filing scam reports, and others were trained to identify individuals who might be potential scam victims. I asked similar questions for every interviewee, but I changed some key words to expand the scope of the who, what, and why categories. Here were some related questions I asked:

1) Can you recall a situation where you believed someone was being scammed?

2) Which demographics are more likely to fall for scams? Least likely?

3) How are these effected demographics learning about scams? Are they even aware about scams?

4) How have phishing tactics changed overtime? What might be the cause of these changes?

5)What kind of precautions can someone take to prevent scams? Are they effective against today's phishing tactics? 

 After reviewing the responses from all the interviewees, the end result was a complete change of perspective on the issue. I've learned that the elderly are more likely to fall for phishing tactics, supporting by hypothesis, but young children are also vulnerable to these types of scams too. I had not thought about the other end of the age spectrum. The FTC and T-Mobile warned that phishing techniques have become more advanced overtime. For example, some scammers can track which companies you visited (via cookies) and send fraudulent emails with company logos. Why phishing tactics have changed is partially due to advancing communication technology and more about other related innovations. Since email's creation, there have been great innovations in communication technology. Despite these rapid advancements, the core functions of phone and email, the two major avenues of phishing scams, have remained relatively the same. As companies started expanding their presence with the assistance of the internet, scammers were able to take advantage. There are precautions and actions to take regarding email and phone scams, but after listening to the experts I can see how the elderly could overlook them. The simple reason is the precautions and reporting process is more complex than it needs to be, which exposes another opportunity. Terms like "authentication" and "Cross-referencing" might be understandable for many seasoned tech users, but the elderly may have a harder time understanding.