Frances Yong, formerly a fraud risk leader, experienced a personal tragedy when her mother was scammed in 2020. This led to the loss of a significant sum of money. This event prompted Yong to leave her banking career and establish White Byte, a digital literacy consultancy focused on scam prevention, particularly for seniors.
Yong's mother's scam and subsequent cognitive decline fueled her decision. She recognized that existing educational efforts might not reach less digitally savvy groups, so she customized workshops to address their specific needs and misconceptions.
Yong's workshops assess understanding, break down concepts, and use interactive activities. She also emphasizes the increasing importance of digital literacy in a post-pandemic world. AI has made scams more sophisticated.
Yong advises pausing before sharing money or information, verifying requests, seeking advice, and contacting the ScamShield hotline. She stresses that it's better to miss a deal than lose savings.
5 Comments
ZmeeLove
We've been hearing this for years now. Let's hope it's not the last time before we all understand.
Habibi
What a fantastic initiative. It's vital to target the groups who are most at risk.
Africa
Many seniors are already digitally literate. Is she assuming everyone needs this type of education?
Comandante
While empathy is important for a start-up, it should be a bit more professional. Is this marketing strategy really up to par?
Bella Ciao
The story sounds too good to be true, I wonder how she avoids the pitfall of a scam herself now!