Older Australians’ concerns about online security being addressed

Research has found that older Australians are "tech-savvy and social but limited by cyber safety and scam concerns."

The study, conducted by aged care provider Benetas, surveyed just over 1000 Australians aged 65 and over about their digital habits.

Elyssia Clark, general manager of customer, insights and marketing at Benetas, said older Australians want to improve their knowledge in order to embrace technology more.

"There are flow on benefits for keeping connected with families and friends, but technology use has also resulted in 80 per cent of older Australians being concerned about the security of their personal information when they are online," Ms Clark said.

"In fact, we found privacy and security concerns are the most common limitation to using technology, well above physical, financial, or language related limitations."

Key findings of the study include:

• 81 per cent say tech is important in helping them keep in touch with family and friends
• 80 per cent are concerned about the security of their personal information when using online services.

Mobile applications, games, email, video chats and social media can all be tools in the prevention and management of loneliness.

The Benetas study shows strong interest amongst older people in learning more about avoiding online scams (58 per cent), how to recognise phishing emails or texts (49 per cent), safe online banking practices (45 per cent) and password security (40 per cent).

"We considered the role an aged care provider can play in helping lift that confidence to use technology and stay safe online, and a consequence of that could be greater opportunity to engage with technology to keep connected with family and friends," Ms Clarke said.

Benetas is now partnering with the Cyber Safety Project to trial a digital safety program to their residents in September.

"We are using the insights and findings from our research to develop a cyber safety training program that caters to the needs of older Australians and helps keep them and their families safe online," Ms Clarke said.

The anxiety older people are experiencing around digital safety is certainly not unfounded. According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, ScamWatch, Australians have reported almost $140bn worth of losses just this year to date, and people aged 65 and over represent more than 30 per cent of total reported losses in 2024.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) deputy chair Catriona Lowe said older people are a common target for online scammers.

“Reports to Scamwatch indicate scammers are targeting older Australians with retirement savings, who may be looking for investment opportunities," she said.

"We know of a recent case where an elderly woman lost her life savings after seeing a deep fake Elon Musk video on social media, clicking the link and registering her details online.

"She was assigned a ‘financial advisor’ and could see on an online dashboard she was apparently making returns, but she couldn’t withdraw her money.”

Research has found that the effects of loneliness on older people reaches beyond the emotional; feelings of abandonment and rejection accompany an increased risk of dementia and cardiovascular disease.

One initiative, the Australian eSafety Commissioner's 'Be Connected' program, which builds digital skills and online confidence, reached two million people in May of this year.

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said initiatives like Be Connected play a vital role in the freedom, confidence and independence of older Australians.

“Technology has a wonderful ability to connect, enable and empower individuals, and we must ensure older Australians are not only included in our increasingly online world, but that they feel confident benefiting from it,” she said.

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