46% of Kiwis believe that their ageing loved ones have already been targeted by online threats, the Avast Safe Tech Report reveals.
According to Stephen Kho, Avast’s director of offensive security, older adults frequently use SMS texts, email, voicemail, Facebook, and Facebook Marketplace, making them prime targets for scammers.
“Those are kind of old attacks, but unfortunately, they’re affecting our population, because inherently, the older population or generation are more trusting, less suspicious, less paranoid,” Kho said.
Methods that were once reliable for identifying many scams are no longer effective as artificial intelligence continues to progress.
“Years ago it was: okay, look for bad spelling, bad grammar, bad English.”
“The survey really points to the fact that whilst we are worried about them being scammed, we’re probably not doing enough.”
Although 84% of New Zealanders have cautioned their older relatives about online scams, only 53%, based on the Avast report, actually change their habits.
44% of Kiwis also said their older loved ones continue to write down passwords on paper. Kho even noted that people frequently became defensive when asked about their awareness of scams and cybersecurity.
“So if you point out a grandparent to say, ‘Hey, you’re not using your password manager; you need to stop writing your passwords in this notebook next to you, they might say, ‘I’ve done this for 20 years, you know; what’s wrong with that? ’”
Moreover, 74% of New Zealanders worry that their older relatives could fall victim to online scams. Despite this widespread concern, many admit to engaging in risky online behaviours themselves.
73% of respondents confessed to clicking on suspicious links, while 59% answered calls from unknown numbers, and 54% acknowledged oversharing personal information online.
Avast reported that the most prevalent scams aimed at older adults include tech support scams, phishing, and fake invoice scams.
Romance scams also remain an ongoing issue.
Avast experts encourage having the Safe Tech Talk, focusing on the safe use of technology, such as password habits, spotting the red flags, knowing the most common scams, the use of smart safety tools, and making cybersecurity a team effort or working with a trusted person when in doubt whether a message or request is legitimate.
The Avast survey was conducted among 1001 adults from April 24 to May 8, 2025.