this to gain your trust for a confidence trick or to get access to your
financial holdings or belongings. A person may pretend to be a friend
to more effectively cyberbully or smear your reputation.In rarer cases, grooming may be aimed at physically or sexually exploit-
ing the victim. Although the group most at risk for sexual predation
is teens between the ages of 13 and 15, adults and seniors can also be
targets.As a senior, you may be at risk for criminal grooming in several ways,
including the following:➟ A financial predator may create a trusted relationship
as a way to get at your money.➟ An online dating or other connection may turn out to
be physically threatening in an in-person meeting.➟ A criminal may use information you post online to
approach another family member — your child or
grandchild, for example.Criminals who attempt to groom or socially engineer their victims
share some common tactics:➟ They try to gain your trust by indicating common
interests or claiming common friends or organiza-
tions. (They gather most of this information through
reading information that you, or others, have posted
online and through communications with you
designed to elicit this information.)➟ Criminals often act generous in ways that cost them
nothing. They may be liberal with praise and virtual
gifts, such as sending you e-cards or photos to win
you over. If a gift is well received, they may begin
offering real gifts to make you feel further indebted.190
Part II: Using the Internet While Dodging the Risk