With online fraud against older adults rising at an alarming pace, the Silver Age Foundation for Elders organised a ‘Masterclass on Cyber Safety for Elders’ in Bhubaneswar on Saturday, drawing over 120 senior citizens seeking clarity on fast-evolving digital threats. The session focused on phishing, UPI scams, fake customer-care numbers, identity theft, emotional manipulation and the growing menace of ‘digital arrest’—scams that have repeatedly targeted vulnerable users across the country.
Addressing the participants, Arun Bothra, additional director general (ADG) of police, Odisha, and founder of India Cares Volunteers, warned that cybercriminals today rely less on technology and more on exploiting human emotions. “Fear, curiosity and excitement are the tools scammers use to trap people. Awareness is the strongest defence,” he says, emphasising that one alert individual in a family can prevent large financial losses. He commended the Foundation for creating a community-driven platform for digital safety.
The masterclass was led by Yogesh Sapkale, deputy editor at Moneylife and one of the leading cyber-fraud experts, who drew on his extensive research and real-world cases to explain how criminals adapt quickly to new regulations, payment channels and digital behaviours. He detailed the surge in digital arrest scams, fake know-your-customer (KYC)-update messages, fraudulent courier calls, one-time passcode (OTP)-based traps, investment impersonation scams and misuse of remote-access apps.
Mr Sapkale explained the psychological levers used in these frauds—panic, urgency, authority, rewards and emotional pressure—and demonstrated common red flags such as shortened URLs, suspicious domain names, phishing attachments and unsolicited requests for sensitive information. He urged senior citizens to never share OTPs, avoid clicking unknown links on WhatsApp or SMS and verify the identity of callers before responding.
Participants were also trained in practical digital safety tools, including multi-factor authentication, app permission hygiene, strong password practices and safe methods for accessing customer support. He guided the audience through grievance-redressal routes, including free helpline number 1930, the national cybercrime reporting portal (NCRP), RBI’s complaint management system (CMS), banking ombudsman and complaint mechanisms available through financial regulators such as SEBI for investment-related frauds.
According to Amar Jyoti Mahapatra, co-founder and chairperson of the Silver Age Foundation for Elders, the programme was prompted by real-life incidents faced by the Foundation’s members. “Some of our elders were digitally scammed. We realised there was a need for structured, detailed awareness so they could protect themselves,” he says.
A poignant moment of the event came when Swarn Chandra, an octogenarian member, recounted her traumatic experience of ‘digital arrest’ in 2023. Her ordeal, which began with a fake law-enforcement call and spiralled into intimidation and financial loss, moved the audience. She later recovered most of the defrauded amount with assistance from her bank and the police, giving hope to others who feared similar scams.
The event also featured a prayer performance by the Choir of Silver Age Foundation for Elders and a thematic skit by the Kalakar Theatre group, underscoring the Foundation’s focus on holistic well-being and safety. Supported by Jindal Foundation, Jindal Steel and Prelude Ventures, the Foundation plans to scale similar cyber-safety programmes across Bhubaneswar in the coming months.
Saturday’s session was part of the Foundation’s Tech4Elders initiative, which aims to build ‘smart elders’ equipped to navigate India’s increasingly digital ecosystem. The programme is supported under the CSR initiative of CSM Technologies Ltd.
“Our support is aimed at digital inclusion,” says Lagna Panda, director of CSM Technologies. “We want to ensure that our parents and elders are not left behind as essential services move online—especially in the post-pandemic era.”
