At a time in life when personal connections can seem vanishing, it’s all the more tragic our treasured elders are urged to be suspicious of new ones.
The message delivered from our visiting B.C. Seniors Advocate Dan Levitt may not have meant to be dispiriting, but there was a sad acknowledgement underpinning his excellent advice at the Salt Spring Seniors Centre last week: times have changed, and we need to keep up with them — even on Salt Spring.
The dramatic increase in calls to the province-wide Seniors Abuse and Information Line, or the rise in reported scams targeting senior victims, represent an industrialization of what once might’ve been a boutique area of criminal operation. With so much personal data being shared online, savvy scam artists have upscaled their efforts to direct fraud toward the most vulnerable with unprecedented precision — and with technologies that can now mimic the voices of loved ones, both seniors and those who care for them have to be vigilant.
It’s one thing to agree to take on the hard work of shifting our old habits; it’s quite another to recognize the downstream effects of making those now-necessary changes. Not picking up unknown phone calls, for example, or even being wary if they look familiar — because even an island prefix can be faked, Levitt confirmed — leaves many older residents mourning a lost opportunity for conversations, particularly as it becomes more difficult to get out and about to have them. It’s a complicated truth that a rise in these types of scams makes socially connecting programs offered for seniors — many supported by our own Salt Spring Seniors Services Society — all the more important.
Perhaps our local governments should also take a page from Levitt’s book of recommendations and begin work on a Seniors Plan — acknowledging this growing demographic’s needs before they reach crisis levels, and setting aside resources to meet reality. Because we will all be someone’s elder, sooner or later.