Tips for the Phone

Lhuerta

My DH, loves his phone. He uses the timer when he's watering the lawn so he knows when to move the sprinkler. He calls our son and daughter frequently. It has a tracker on it that gives me some comfort.

If a text appears on his phone, he runs to me to deal with it. He's excited to share it with me and doesn't know what to do. The last one was obviously a scam. It said it was from his bank (but the e-mail didn't match) and asked him to click on the link to provide some banking information. Like I said, he currently doesn't do anything and alerts me......but I worry that won't last.

Also, I wonder if, somehow, scammers know that he has Alzheimer's because we seem to be getting more of these lately.

Any tips of how we can protect him from those scams, but let him keep his phone? (I don't think he can learn how to use a different one.)

Thanks,

White Crane

I believe there is a way to have phone calls forwarded to your phone but I don’t know about the text messages. I hope you can find a solution soon. It would be so easy for someone to take advantage of him.

harshedbuzz

Can you slip it into airplane mode?

You could switch it on/off to call the daughter. I would also change the WiFi and email passwords so he can't access email or websites at home.

HB

Denise1847

Several years ago, my DH no longer could use his phone. I purchased a RAZ phone for dementia patients. It doesn't allow for texts or internet access. It has pictures of people he can call or receive phone calls from. He can call just by pressing the picture. He doesn't use it. However, if I go for a walk or leave for a few minutes, I give him the phone and go over how to call me. I can also call and check on him, but I am never away that long.

loveskitties

You may be able to download an app which only allows calls/texts from those in the contact list. Check with your phone service provider.

cavenson

My DH has a flip phone, and he also got a scam message that said it was from his bank this week. I told him it looked like a scam because the link had a strange address, but he insisted on calling his bank directly. The bank representative verified that it was a scam and told him it was fortunate that he had a flip phone, since it's not connected to the internet and he would not have been able to click on the link. The flip phone is good for calls, texts, and setting alarms. Some flip phones also have GPS capability, and the Jitterbug one also has an urgent response button for quick help in an emergency.

[Deleted User]

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Ed1937

All good replies. I think you can also have a preview of mail being delivered to your house from the post office. That way you know what's coming.

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dancsfo

A review of some options:

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-cell-phones-for-older-adults/

And for iPhones: "Assistive Access is a distinctive iOS experience, with more focused features and a simplified user interface, which allows people with cognitive disabilities to use iPhone with greater ease and independence.

https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/17.0/ios

The best choices may depend on stage of disability.