Resources

You asked... so here it is! Below are some links to things we share in our classes. Note that they are in no particular order and are updated sporadically. 

---

Fraud prevention toolkit for older adults from Canadian Bankers Association (click here for the pdf file).

Privacy focused search engine (alternative to Google): duckduckgo.com

Anonymous, private Artificial Intelligence (AI) chats, that aren't trained on your data. Once you visit the site you'll just need to select 'Agree and Continue' then you can get started: duck.ai  You can try different chatbots including ChatGPT and Claude.

Privacy focused email (free & paid options) and VPN: protonmail.com. Creating a secondary email address is a great way to keep your primary email address more private. Use your primary address for emailing family and friends, communicating with your doctor or accountant, and your secondary email address to sign up for newsletters or any time you don't want to give out your personal information.

Not fond of having two email addresses? You can enable free a email forwarding service that removes hidden trackers. Apple users (iPad/iPhone/Mac) can use the built-in 'Hide my email' function or anyone can use DuckDuckGo's free service ... have a look here: https://www.spreadprivacy.com/protect-your-inbox-with-duckduckgo-email-protection/?s=em-gs

Anonymous, private Artificial Intelligence (AI) chats, that aren't trained on your data. Once you visit the site you'll just need to select 'Agree and Continue' then you can get started: duck.ai

Privacy report card for common websites: privacyspy.org

Handy tool to check if that number that called you really was the Canada Revenue Agency (about half way down the page): https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/scams-fraud/verify-cra-contact.html

Government of Canada cyber security info website: https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/en

Can you spot a deep fake? Give TrueMedia.org's quiz here: https://detect.truemedia.org/quiz 

Another deep fake quiz, this one from University of Kellogg School of Management: https://detectfakes.kellogg.northwestern.edu/

The AARP (American Association for Retired Persons) has some great tips for keeping safe online, visit their website here: www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/

Many years ago now the Competition Bureau of Canada published something called The Little Black Book of Scams, and while it is quite dated, much of the information and tips still ring true, so it's a good resource to browse. 

Most of the major banks have fraud awareness sections of their website, which offer some great tips to avoid scams, here are some links:

• RBC Cyber Security Checklist for Seniors
• TD Bank Fraud Prevention
• Bank of Montreal Security Alerts
• Scotiabank Protect Yourself from Fraud

Senior Planet from AARP has daily online classes on a wide range of topics, including many on how to use technology. Check them out here: https://seniorplanet.org/classes/

What happens to returned Amazon items? Here is a deep dive from CNBC (click to watch). 

* While we try to keep this list current the web is ever changing -- so if you happen to find a broken link please let us know by filling out the contact form on the About page of this website.