The key thing people (not just the elderly) need to understand is that NOBODY LEGITIMATE will make initial contact with you over the phone or over SMS. The IRS will mail you. The police will knock on your door. If someone you don't know contacts you over the phone, 99.999% of the time it is a scam or they're selling something. Once you internalize that, you're well on your way towards avoiding being a victim.
My experience has been very different from yours. I've absolutely had financial institutions make unexpected phone calls to me and asking me security questions. In just the last year:
- Someone claiming to be Mastercard phoned me and asked to first verify my name and address. I was 99% sure it was a scam, but I had just enough doubt and curiosity that I called Mastercard back at a known number and it turns out that they were indeed trying to decide whether or not to block a large purchase I had made.
- Someone from the bowels of the check-clearing department of my business bank account called to verify whether or not to pay a large check I'd written to an individual.
- My regular bank called me out of the blue to check on an incoming wire transfer that had my middle initial although my bank account was set up without a middle initial, and they wanted to verify this before accepting the transfer.
In each case above, the call was from a phone number that I didn't recognize (and were un-googleable because they were internal numbers), from a person I didn't know, and the conversation started by them asking me personal or security-related questions! But they were all legitimate calls, and in fact would have caused me grief had I ignored or refused the call.
Financial institutions contribute to the mess by having poor telephone security practices themselves. They also send emails with links they want you to click on to sign in and they invent all sorts of domain names for various services/surveys/emails that bear no relation to their main domain name.
Better to just call their main support line. Most likely they’ll never have heard of ‘some guy’ and they’ll tell you your iCloud is just fine.
If they fell for that then they're not very smart.
Would a smart person fall for it if a random hobo turned up at their door and claimed to be Jesus, but BTW he really needs you card and pin for 20 minutes, oh and $500 in cash as well!
.....
Assuming people aren't smart because they fall for a scam doesn't do them justice and it shows a lack of empathy on your part.
I tell him that no matter who contacts him and how (could be the government, IRS, bank, and could be phone, or email or a door knock) he should politely end the contact immediately.
Don't listen to what they have to say, don't give them a single shred of information - not even his name or address or anything.
If he is really convinced it's something legit, HE should initiate contact with whoever they said they were - find THEIR phone number or website and contact them and ask.
That way at least he can be sure he knows who is on the other end.
A phone book?
A lot of scams can be stopped if you consult with someone before sending actual money. I think it's important to tell your parents that before they give anybody any money or account numbers or buy gift cards (a lot of scammers make people buy gift cards and then give them the number) they should talk to you first. And tell them that there is nothing legitimate that ever requires you to pay NOW. Scammers are really good at pressuring people to act immediately instead of asking somebody.