On line scams seem to be everywhere these days, with older people often falling victim to opportunistic fraudsters.

In fact, in 2021, Australians 65 and older lost more money to scams than any other age group – about $82 million of the $1.8 billion reported to the ACCC's Scamwatch.

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM), a time for all Australians to improve their cyber security knowledge and take action to protect their information and devices.

 The theme for 2023 is 'Be cyber wise – don’t compromise', and encourages everyone to take four simple steps to be more cyber wise:

• update your devices regularly
• turn-on multi-factor authentication
• backup your important files
• use passphrases and password managers

Consumer magazine, Choice, says their latest Annual Cyber Threat Report indicates that cybercrime is reported on average once every seven minutes, a 13 per cent increase from the previous financial year and that even these four simple steps can reduce the knowledge gaps cybercriminals rely on.

As Cyber Security month comes to a finish, Edith Cowan University and CyberWest Hub are delivering Cyber Security Awareness Week.

Beginning on October 23, there is a range of events over the week with workshops and talks covering cyber safety for seniors, cyber resilience, proactive data protection and more. 

 CyberWest Hub Director, Cecily Rawlinson said knowing how to stay safe online is essential for everyone.  

“Cyber Security Awareness Week is an opportunity to create buzz and interest around cyber security,” she said. “Cyber crime is on the rise, and it can feel overwhelming at times, but there are a lot of things people can do and we are passionate about helping them learn.” 

This includes the quirkily named "Scams & Scones – cyber safety education" - seniors are invited to this free cyber-safety workshop to learn how to identify and prevent scams online.

More information can be found at https://www.cyberwest.au/-news/cyber-week-2023

If you would prefer to learn more about cyber safety in person, Coonabarabran Library is holding a series of esafety workshops starting this week.

The free presentations include 'Staying safe on Facebook',' Safer online shopping and banking' and 'How to use government websites'.

Hosted by the eSafety Commissioner, sessions will be live streamed to Coonabarabran Library.