COLORADO SPRINGS — In today’s fast-paced digital world, many of our senior community members can feel a bit left behind. According to the FBI, seniors are among the most targeted victims of online scams. Fraud complaints from the country’s elderly population increased by 14% last year with more than $3 billion reported in losses.
This alarming data highlights the need for programs that equip our seniors with the knowledge they need to protect themselves and keep up with the times.
“It’s a little bit of fear and feeling left behind because of where the world is going, and maybe when they finished their career and went into retirement, things were very different than now,” said Tom Lathrop, Senior Center Director of Operations.
That’s why the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region's Senior Center is teaming up with AARP Senior Planet. They’re launching a technology series designed to help our older neighbors confidently navigate the tech landscape.
“It’s that attitude that I’m going to help you get through this [rather] than I’m just going to give you a bunch of info and see what you do with it,” Lathrop said.
Lathrop is one of the instructors for a free technology program offered to Senior Center students.
“There’s hundreds of different options,” he said. “I have one coming up about smart TVs. Everybody’s got a smart TV. So maybe how do you use that? There are all these extra buttons that are there.”
Seniors can learn to use their smartphones, artificial intelligence, and apps like Zoom and Google Calendars.
“Those are all the things that I think a lot of seniors or older adults are excited about learning more about,” he said.
The goal is to help the elderly community become better prepared to use technology confidently, without the fear of becoming a victim.
“We do hear those kind of stories from people," Lathrop said. "That they’re just not sure. They don’t have a computer, or in many cases, a lot of our patrons don’t have email addresses.”
Registration for the upcoming classes in November opened up on October 7, 2024. The technology program is open to anyone 55 years old and up. You can register on the Senior Center websiteor by calling the senior center number at (719) 955-3400.
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