The Opportunity
I have a strong belief that the elderly population in the U.S. is more susceptible to phone and email scams due to rapidly advancing technology causing knowledge gaps.
The Interviewees
1) Senior home care employee
Notes:
Scams sounded realistic. They use emotion to lure elderly. Family ties. Not answer phone - monitor call her if necessary. Keep elderly up to date about scam. Tries to but cant be there all the time. Age group matters. Keeping them connected to those who know and trust. Isolated not good support are more susceptible. Mental ability - dementia.
Notes:
Scams sounded realistic. They use emotion to lure elderly. Family ties. Not answer phone - monitor call her if necessary. Keep elderly up to date about scam. Tries to but cant be there all the time. Age group matters. Keeping them connected to those who know and trust. Isolated not good support are more susceptible. Mental ability - dementia.
2) Senior citizen with a technology background
Notes:
Has encountered many Facebook and other social media scams. Reports scams to social media platforms and notifies friends of recent scams. Has never been scammed before. Always on the lookout and always cautious.
Notes:
Has encountered many Facebook and other social media scams. Reports scams to social media platforms and notifies friends of recent scams. Has never been scammed before. Always on the lookout and always cautious.
3) Single mother of two children
Notes:
Notes:
Trust. Does not have any restrictions. Does supervise and monitor phone usage. As they get older need more restriction. Tendency to explore. Elderly are really trusting. Pop-ups susceptible. Teenagers are more tech savvy. Tech exposure. AARP has a scam notice and magazine/newspaper targets seniors. don't rely too much on internet. Scammers use companies like AARP.
4) Retirement home
Notes:
Dependent and independent, still have phone and internet access. More significant monitoring less of a need. Informed employees about scams. Assisted and one-on-one supervision. Connection is important and vigilant.
5) Grandparent who lives with her son
Notes:
Notes:
Rarely answers phone calls unless she knows caller. Doesn't have email access. Son has taught her about phone scams, what to look out for, to a certain extent.
Summary
In this set of interviews, my who, individuals and organizations, are either very knowledgeable of scams, do not encounter scams enough to find them important, or have found another way to deal with scams. These interviews are still focused on the elderly and the very young (learned about this potential group in the previous set of interviews), but their responses highlighted different needs and reasons for those needs that set limitations on my target audience.
The senior care employee has worked with many elderly individuals, some have been victims of phone and email scams in the past. She has been trained to identify scams that target the elderly and assists her clients by teaching them about scams. When she is present, she monitors client's phone calls. I found some similarities between her responses and the responses from the retirement home. At the retirement home, seniors are monitored on a spectrum from total care to assisted living. Where the senior falls on the spectrum is important because those living in total care may not even answer phone calls without supervision. Also, information spreads relatively quickly between seniors and personnel in the home. A senior informed me that her experience on Facebook and other social media platforms helped build her knowledge of scam tactics. She remembers receiving email scams that claimed to be from the developers of the game she plays on Facebook. After receiving so many scam emails, pop-up scams, and phony calls, she believes that she will never become victim of a scam.
It appears that the more interaction and guidance the elderly receive the less likely they will fall victim to scams. The threats of phone and email scams are not fully diminished even with the assistance of someone knowledgeable, but their perceived need for an external solution (my solution) is greatly reduced. Seniors who are living with some form of assistance from family to retirement home would lie outside of my target audience. Also, some seniors may already believe their knowledge of scams is sufficient and would not consider themselves as potential victims. My solution would focus on seniors who live secluded and with little current knowledge of scams. From these interviews, their need was not more information about recent scams, one-on-one consulting, or an incentive to move away from technology. Instead, inclusiveness and being a part of trusting community gave them the sense of security. My solution has to provide those within my boundary a similar or greater sense of security.
The senior care employee has worked with many elderly individuals, some have been victims of phone and email scams in the past. She has been trained to identify scams that target the elderly and assists her clients by teaching them about scams. When she is present, she monitors client's phone calls. I found some similarities between her responses and the responses from the retirement home. At the retirement home, seniors are monitored on a spectrum from total care to assisted living. Where the senior falls on the spectrum is important because those living in total care may not even answer phone calls without supervision. Also, information spreads relatively quickly between seniors and personnel in the home. A senior informed me that her experience on Facebook and other social media platforms helped build her knowledge of scam tactics. She remembers receiving email scams that claimed to be from the developers of the game she plays on Facebook. After receiving so many scam emails, pop-up scams, and phony calls, she believes that she will never become victim of a scam.
It appears that the more interaction and guidance the elderly receive the less likely they will fall victim to scams. The threats of phone and email scams are not fully diminished even with the assistance of someone knowledgeable, but their perceived need for an external solution (my solution) is greatly reduced. Seniors who are living with some form of assistance from family to retirement home would lie outside of my target audience. Also, some seniors may already believe their knowledge of scams is sufficient and would not consider themselves as potential victims. My solution would focus on seniors who live secluded and with little current knowledge of scams. From these interviews, their need was not more information about recent scams, one-on-one consulting, or an incentive to move away from technology. Instead, inclusiveness and being a part of trusting community gave them the sense of security. My solution has to provide those within my boundary a similar or greater sense of security.
Table
Inside the Boundary
|
Outside the boundary |
| Elderly who live alone Little knowledge about technology |
Tech savvy individuals and Elderly with consistent monitoring |
Consistent and relevant
information about
scams
|
The need is not consulting or anti-tech |
The need is awareness
and a reliable way to deliver effective information
|
The cause of the need is more focused on inclusion
|
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