What does a cybercriminal see when they look at you?
Friendly. Helpful. Good with money. The kind of person who answers the phone with their full name. Perfectly normal, or even positive qualities. Until you look at them through the eyes of a cybercriminal…
Cybercriminals look for characteristics and information that tell them who might be interesting or easy to target. Being friendly might make it harder to hang up on someone. Having saved all your life can make you an interesting target. And thinking I would never fall for that might be exactly the blind spot they need.
So when I was asked to find a new way to help seniors become more resilient to cybercrime, I turned the perspective around: what if they looked at themselves through the eyes of a cybercriminal?
The result is Kwetsbaar? Weerbaar! (which translates roughly to Vulnerable? Resilient!); a card-based workshop that puts unexpected vulnerabilities on the table. Literally.
Put your vulnerabilities on the table
Participants choose cards with characteristics and habits they recognise in themselves and put them on the table. Friendly. Always looking for a good deal. Would do anything for the grandchildren. Thinks: that would never happen to me.
Why could a cybercriminal be interested in this? Is there a blind spot you hadn’t noticed before? Or do you actually know more than you thought?
And then: how do you make it harder for them?
Participants exchange experiences and clever tricks, decide what they could do differently, and use the practical tips included in the workshop; from recognising a fake email to checking where a suspicious link really leads. That way, Kwetsbaar? turns into Weerbaar!
A workshop in a tin
Everything needed to run Kwetsbaar? Weerbaar! fits inside one small tin: the cards, instructions, practical tips and cybersecurity basics.
One set works for 2–5 participants and a facilitator. No cybersecurity expert or professional moderator required. Anyone can guide the conversation, join in themselves, or facilitate several tables at once.
Small enough to send through the post. Simple enough to use without training. And hopefully interesting enough to make people actually want to talk about cybercrime.
Order your copy here.
Credits
Concept & execution: Merel Witteman
Made in the context of: Cyberweerbare Senioren, initiated by Jurian Strik,
in collaboration with City Deal Lokale Weerbaarheid Cybercrime,
Agenda Stad & Centrum voor Criminaliteitspreventie en Veiligheid (CCV)
