Most "old folks"refrain from having smartphones, tablets, or any source of technology other than TV. My Abuelo who refers to himself as "hip", is now tech-savvy and knows how to navigate through the web, without being misled.
Using the Computer
A few years after laptops became popular, my retired and very bored Abuelo wanted to climb aboard the "laptop train"as well. With no prior knowledge he eagerly opened his laptop and followed the instructions as to "how to use it". However, he quickly realized that this technological world would be extremely hard for him to navigate through. With my help, he was able to search the web, and create various social media accounts like facebook and instagram.
One day, my Abuelo was looking into a vacation package to go on a cruise. He found various links that led him to different packages and happened to end up on a website that offered, what looked like a great deal! Once he read all of the information he was excited and called the number on the screen. A charismatic woman who seemed trustworthy answered the phone explaining all of the package options. Finally it came time to pay and thats when the phone call became very suspicious... With the constant badgering for money and private information (that wasn't necessary that early in the decision process) I quickly told Abuelo to hug up before eliciting any important information. Directly after the phone call I researched the cruise ad and was not surprised to find it was a SCAM!
Since the scam incident, my Abuelo began to grow very skeptical of information and articles via laptop. I explained to him that everything on the Internet is not always as it seems (check out my CHECK THE SOURCE blog post for more). Together, we looked through different articles like Citizens Advice (see link below), to seek guidance on how to determine what websites are scams.