Plus, free smart TV? Telly offers one in exchange for your data. I chat with a guy who needs to stop his elderly mom from changing her passwords. Discover why the wealthy ditch their phone cases, ways to earn cash with online surveys, and the best day to book flights.
Grandparents are making big money as social media gurus
New word for you: Grandfluencer. That’s grandparent + influencer for all the folks trading in retirement for social media fame. We’re talking millions of followers, thousands of comments … and a lot of money. One paid post can land a particularly big grandfluencer over $150K.
Take 79-year-old Lynn Yamada Davis, for example. She rakes in a cozy six-figure salary from her Cooking With Lynja channels. Over 17 million people have watched her build a 10-foot hotdog and make popcorn with a hair straightener. Unusual? Yes. Entertaining? Definitely.
Offering up some elderly wisdom
You probably assumed the fans of grandfluencers are older adults. Nope, most of their fans are young adults. There are dozens of accounts where elders offer their wisdom. Many of these creators are like warm, motherly and fatherly figures.
You don’t need to be a lifelong entertainer to go viral on social media. The wacky chef cookingwithlynja is a retired MIT engineer. You wouldn’t have guessed that from how naturally entertaining she is in the kitchen.
If you want to know how to unstick a zipper with petroleum jelly, find yourself an internet mom/grandma. Brunchwithbabs is one of the queens of this genre, providing tips and tricks to her 4 million followers.
The internet’s grandpa
Kim Komando with “Old Man Steve” (Komando.com)
“Old Man Steve” on TikTok, 85-year-old Stephen Austin, has over 1.7 million followers. He posts short clips of drinking coffee, eating cookies and talking to his fans from his assisted living kitchen in Dallas.
Steve has been on my show a few times, and he told me he gets a lot of messages from young fans asking him to be grandpa. “Making fun videos gets me up in the morning,” he said.
Grandparents of comedy
This nasty TikTok scam goes after grieving families
It’s a sad fact that the elderly are prime targets for scammers. One of the scams seniors fall for most is the fake arrest of a grandchild. Here’s how one tough granny fought back.
Scammers have a bottomless bag of tricks, including impersonation, taking advantage of emotions and creating a sense of urgency. What happens when a scammer combines all three dirty tricks? Three unfortunate women found out. Here’s the story.
Celebrity catfish: Kate Beckinsale just called out a scammer who used her identity to con an elderly man out of thousands. His kids reached out to the actress, begging her to prove that she wasn’t the one contacting him. He was convinced she proposed to him via text.
Top 3 holiday scams you and your loved ones need to know about
‘Tis the season of lights, and you can already see the decorations going up everywhere. If you plan to buy decor online, be careful! Scammers are hitting the market with false ads and lousy merchandise. Tap or click here for holiday decoration scams to watch out for.
How to track your mail-in ballot
Most people in the U.S. can vote by mail now. The convenience factor is undeniable. It’s beneficial to those who are elderly or otherwise homebound. Do you vote by mail? Tap or click here for steps to change your address if you move.
In Telfair County, Georgia, a fisherman stumbled upon critical evidence from the 2015 Craigslist murder of an elderly couple. He first pulled up a .22-caliber rifle, then discovered driver’s licenses and credit cards belonging to the victims. This find has revitalized the investigation, with more clues headed to the crime lab.
How new Alexa features can help care for the older people in your life
It can be challenging when caring for an aging loved one. There aren’t many tools to make the job more accessible, and with COVID-19 around, face-to-face meetings are difficult.
But when you can’t physically be with your loved ones, companies like Amazon attempt to make the world a smaller place. Through initiatives such as Alexa Together, the service can send you daily check-in alerts or dispatch emergency services if a fall is detected.
Nursing student says an Apple Watch notification helped detect a rare abnormality – Here’s how to enable it
Apple’s technology is often credited for saving people’s lives. An elderly New Jersey resident, for example, hit her head earlier this year while no one else was around. Unable to move, she dialed 911 through her Apple AirPods and Siri.
5 uses for security cameras you never thought of before now
Think about all of the valuable possessions inside your home. Jewelry, big-screen televisions, maybe some high-priced artwork, to name a few things.
With treasured items like these, it’s no wonder thieves are always trying to break in and rip us off. They don’t even always wait for you to be out of town on vacation. Sometimes they have the nerve to sneak inside while we’re asleep at night.
Warning: These are the tactics scammers use to fool older people on the phone
While scammers have embraced the digital age to target victims through social media, fake websites and landing pages, don’t think that they forgot their roots. A simple phone call is still an effective tool for criminals to practice their crooked trade.
Surprise! Why you shouldn't trust Google for health advice
The pandemic has caused people to be more concerned about their health, and that’s a good thing. A steady diet and exercise will help most people keep healthy, but others may need a little more.
We know the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, and it’s more important than ever they stay on top of their treatments. Prescription medication can be expensive, but there are some ways to save. Tap or click here to check out a site that can help you save up to 80% at the pharmacy.
Clever sweepstakes scam targets your banking info
Sweepstake scams have been around almost for as long as the competitions have. If there is any situation where money can be made or stolen, you can bet your bottom dollar that scammers won’t be far behind.
AARP’s Fraud Watch Network was recently alerted to a sweepstakes scam making the rounds. The scammers have been targeting the elderly by telling them that they have won a prize. In another scam, they claim to be from the FBI. That is obviously not true, and they only want to steal your banking information.
The newest scam targeting grandparents' coronavirus fears
Every now and then a particularly sinister scam enjoys some breakaway success. And now is no different, as scammers are capitalizing on COVID-19 fears to pressure unsuspecting victims into paying them.
Unfortunately, these kinds of scams are quite common, and now multiple U.S. government agencies have issued warnings about many that pertain to the coronavirus pandemic. Tap or click here to learn about what the IRS, Secret Service, and FTC recommend to stay safe.
Stay connected: Best ways to check in with elderly or disabled loved ones
With the pandemic keeping us all apart from one another, it’s important to keep in touch with loved ones however we can. That also means we should regularly check in with our older or immunocompromised friends and family members.