Keeping Seniors Safe Online During the Holiday Season: Visiting Angels Shares Cybersecurity Advice for Seniors

Threats Ranging from Gift Card Scams to AI-Driven Impersonation, Families Can Help Seniors
Build Safer Digital Habits During the Holidays and Beyond

BRYN MAWR, Pa., Nov. 5, 2026 — During the holiday season, families face an important safety consideration: protecting older loved ones from the ever-evolving cybercrime landscape and the growing number of threats targeting seniors.

According to Visiting Angels, America's Choice in Home Care®, families and caregivers can help older adults become more confident and cybersecure by making digital safety part of their everyday routine. Rather than this topic being a one-time conversation, being "cybersecure" is an ongoing pursuit as the threat landscape continues to evolve, so touching base about cybersecurity is important. The holidays offer a natural opportunity to check in and talk about online safety, review security settings, and create a plan for handling suspicious requests, calls and messages.

The FBI recently reported that Americans aged 60 and older experienced more than $7.7 billion in losses to fraud in 2025, a 37% increase from the previous year. The holidays create additional opportunities for scammers to attack older adults. As the holiday season brings increased online shopping, digital communication, and social media activity, helping older loved ones recognize and avoid increasingly sophisticated cyber threats is crucial.

Increased transactions, package deliveries, charitable giving, and communication with family also make it easier for fraudulent messages and requests to pass as legitimate. In fact, the FTC reports that consumers lost $2.1 billion to scams originating on social media in 2025, with shopping scams among the most commonly reported.

"Cybersecurity is an important pillar of everyday safety, especially as more seniors use technology to shop, communicate with family, manage finances, review health records, and stay connected to the outside world," said Scott Parrish, President of Visiting Angels. "These conversations give older adults the knowledge and habits to protect themselves, recognize potential threats, pause before responding and know when and where to ask for help."

From suspicious texts and calls to fraudulent emails and messages, Visiting Angels offers practical tips to help older adults recognize and avoid digital financial scams. Simple precautions, such as avoiding links from unknown sources and verifying unexpected requests, can help seniors protect their personal and financial information.

Families and caregivers should alert older loved ones to be cautious of:

• AI and Deepfake Scams: Convincing yet fake voices, videos, images or messages used to request money or sensitive information.
• Phishing Emails and Texts: Falsified messages from seemingly trusted organizations seeking passwords, payment information or personal details.
• Fake Shopping Websites and Deals: Fraudulent sites or ads designed to steal payment information or personal data.
• Gift Card Scams: Scammers posing as trusted people or organizations and asking for gift card payments.
• Voice Phishing and Impersonation: Calls or messages that use urgency to pressure seniors into taking action; these may or may not come from trusted sources.
• Social Media Scams: Fraudulent ads, profiles, giveaways or messages designed to collect information or direct users to malicious sites.
• Tech Support Scams: Alerts or calls claiming a device is compromised and requesting payment or remote access—important to note that tech support does not randomly call customers.
• Payment Demands and Impostor Scams: Cybercriminals impersonate the IRS, law enforcement, utility companies, or tech support. The scammers may threaten arrest, service shutoffs or fines.

Simple Steps to Build Better Digital Safety Habits

Everyday mistakes can create cybersecurity risks. While cyber threats continue to evolve, families can help older adults establish everyday practices, such as good password hygiene, that make it harder for cybercriminals to succeed.

• Keep Devices and Software Updated: Regularly update all devices and apps to keep security protections up to date.
• Create a Family Verification Plan: Designate a trusted family member to call before responding to unusual requests for money or sensitive information.
• Strengthen Passwords and Account Security: Use unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication or two-factor authentication for important accounts. Avoid simple passwords and usernames that can be guessed easily.
• Protect Personal Information: Never share passwords, Social Security numbers, banking information or other sensitive details through unsolicited messages.
• Pause Before Clicking or Responding: Slow down and verify unexpected messages, calls or pop-ups, especially those creating a sense of urgency or distress.
• Verify Unexpected Requests: Contact the person or organization directly using a trusted phone number or official website.
• Stacking Triggers: Note that many cybercriminals deploy a false sense of authority, act with a sense of urgency or haste, and appeal to emotions like fear or pity. Oftentimes these tactics are stacked to make the ruse difficult to question.
• Do Not Engage: Do not answer phone calls or text messages from unknown numbers and avoid clicking unsolicited links.

As seniors increasingly rely on technology to connect, shop and manage daily tasks, digital literacy is an important part of aging safely and independently. Simple steps like reviewing passwords, updating devices, checking privacy settings or talking through a suspicious message can help seniors feel more comfortable navigating technology. Families should also encourage older adults to ask questions and speak up when something doesn't seem right.

"Keeping seniors safe and secure means looking at the whole picture," Parrish said. "That includes physical safety, emotional well-being, independence and now, increasingly, digital safety. When families give their loved ones the tools to navigate technology confidently, they are helping them stay connected and empowered while reducing cyber risks."

SOURCE Visiting Angels