Viewer discretion may be advised due to disturbing content based on a true story…..
Prologue
My Grandma is an 80 year old mother of 5, grandmother of 15, great grandmother of 7, and recently widowed. She has the biggest heart in the world. I can’t believe that her big heart didn’t get her in trouble this time.
The Call
My grandmother received a phone call last week from an unknown caller. After asking who it was, the caller proceeded to say that it was her granddaughter and she needed help. When my grandmother asked her which granddaughter it was, she answered by saying “the pretty one.”
Confidently believing that all of her granddaughters are pretty, the caller then asks “grandma, who does it sound like?” To her, it sounded like my oldest cousin Kelly, and the caller says, “yes it’s Kelly and Im scared and I need your help.” My grandmas walls are starting to drop and she asks Kelly where she is and if she is okay. Kelly then explains to our grandma what happened..
“I was riding with my friend in her boyfriends car and we got pulled over by the police. Her boyfriend had drugs in the car, and I had no clue that they were in there. Now we are in jail. I am so scared please help me. They say I can’t get out unless I have 2,000 dollars please help me and I will repay you.”
My grandma is crying, heart pounding, and mind racing. She asks Kelly where she is and all Kelly can say to respond is “I don’t know” in the hysteria.
“Can you please give me your credit card numbers over the phone so I can get out of here.”
My grandma tells Kelly, “I can’t do that, tell me where you are and I will come get you out.”
“Click,” Kelly hangs up.
Breakdown
Now clearly this was not my cousin Kelly calling my poor grandma from jail and she was being targeted to give personal information over the phone. There are two reasons why I wanted to share this story with as many people as I can. The first is because I want to warn people of the possibilities that are out there. Criminals are targeting us and our families and taking advantage of the elderly. Which brings me to my next point relating to the importance of information security.
No matter what age, scenario, business type, or class, we need to be having these conversations more to protect everyone from the dangers of cyber attacks. Now you can see that individuals are being targeted, what would you do if that was your grandmother? It is important to sit down with them and explain some best practices, like what information is okay and not okay to give over the phone or via email. Even in terms of physical security like locking doors, setting alarms, and using safer passwords can give everyone a little more piece of mind. Share this story with friends and family and bring awareness to make everyone out there active participants in preventing cyber attacks.
Before you go
Wuvavi is an employee awareness platform that makes every employee in your organization an active participant in cybersecurity. Wuvavi focuses on the human side of cybersecurity through information security training and simulated phishing attacks.