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Expert warns Stow seniors about five common scams and offers step-by-step defenses
Summary
At a community session in Stow, cybersecurity expert Eric Souza told seniors about five common scams—including AI voice cloning, crypto demands, tech-support pop-ups, romance/investment fraud, and phishing—and urged simple defenses: hang up and call back, enable multi-factor authentication, freeze credit, and report fraud quickly.
Eric Souza, chief technology officer and chief information security officer for a Boston-based investment firm, opened a presentation for local seniors by saying, "My name is Eric Souza." He outlined five common scams that target older adults and stressed practical, immediate defenses.
Souza told the group that criminals see seniors as attractive targets because of "savings, politeness, and isolation," and cited FBI figures he said showed last year's reported losses to seniors totaled $7,000,000,000. "Best way to do this is to hang up and call back," he said, repeating the central practical step attendees should use when contacted by someone asking for money or remote access.
The session included audience examples—attendees described banks blocking fraudulent transactions and spoof websites that mimic official services—and Souza walked through recovery steps if money is lost: contact the bank, file a police report with the Stow Police for documentation, and submit a complaint to the FBI's IC3 portal. He closed by encouraging attendees to enable multi-factor authentication on critical accounts and to consider freezing credit at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion if appropriate.
Souza also announced an upcoming local session focused on artificial intelligence.
