Begin by asking what feels difficult or worrying. Do not assume that age determines ability; people have different experience, eyesight, memory, dexterity and confidence.
A useful first session
- Update the phone, tablet or computer.
- Protect the email account with a unique password and extra sign-in check.
- Review stored payment details and important account recovery information.
- Turn on useful call or message filtering without blocking expected contacts.
- Agree how unexpected money requests will be verified.
Write down the plan
Record official support numbers, where recovery codes are stored and which trusted person can help. Do not write passwords in the same place as the device unless a better accessible option is genuinely impractical.
Keep the conversation open
Make it easy to ask for help before acting. Reassure the person that convincing scams can deceive anybody and that checking is never an inconvenience.