"Here’s the blunt truth: if EUDIW/EUBW-style wallets had existed 10 years ago, 90% of the fraud hitting elderly people today simply wouldn’t land.
Wallets flip the entire attack surface upside down.

Here’s exactly how they protect older citizens — practically, not theoretically:

1. Incoming messages are finally verified — automatically

Most elder fraud starts with:

• a fake bank SMS

• a spoofed phone call

• an impostor email

• “your grandson is in trouble” scams

• “you must pay immediately” scams

A wallet kills these at the door.

The wallet checks the sender’s credential before the elderly person even sees the message.

If the sender cannot present a cryptographically verified credential from a trusted registry —
the message never reaches the user, or it arrives with a giant, unavoidable warning.

This eliminates impersonation.
Scammers can’t spoof a wallet-verified identity.

2. Wallets validate every payment request

Elder fraud often involves:

• fake invoices

• fraudulent “urgent” payments

• fake charities

• tech support scams

• incorrect IBANs provided by criminals

A wallet-enabled service can require the counterparty to present a signed credential:

• Verified IBAN (proof it belongs to the real organisation)

• Verified merchant or service provider credential

• Verified care-provider role

• Verified government authority credential

If the requesting party can’t provide it, the wallet blocks the transaction — automatically.

3. Wallets enforce “no dangerous action without verified counterpart”

A core rule for elderly protection:

No action over €X or with high risk unless the counterpart is wallet-verified.

This blocks:

• unknown senders

• unexpected requests

• pressure-scams

• surprise tasks

The user doesn’t need to “spot the scam” — the wallet does.

4. Wallets detect suspicious delegation or PoA attempts

Elderly people routinely fall into scams where they:

• hand over codes

• permit remote access

• sign something they shouldn’t

With a wallet:

• every signature is cryptographically bound

• every delegation request must come from a verified source

• revocation is instant

• the wallet can enforce step-up warnings for risky actions

You can’t be tricked into granting PoA to a fraudster — they can’t present a legitimate credential.

5. Wallets allow trusted-circle guardianship, WITHOUT surveillance

This is the killer feature that will save tens of thousands.

A wallet can include configurable, consent-based protection like:

• “My daughter gets notified if I approve a payment over €3000”

• “My son must co-sign any delegation credential”

• “Only verified authorities, banks and care organisations can contact me”

This is empowering, not controlling.
The elderly person keeps autonomy — but with a safety net.

6. Wallets kill voice-spoof scams

AI voice cloning is exploding.

Wallet logic simply says:

If the incoming call isn’t accompanied by a verified digital credential, do not trust the voice.

Wallet identifies the caller cryptographically, not by sound.

Deepfake defeated.

7. Wallet-based banks, hospitals, municipalities, and insurers stop the fraud loop

Because service providers ALSO get wallets, THEY can enforce rules like:

• “We only send messages with an EUBW credential”

• “We only accept incoming documents from verified senders”

• “We never request data through unverified channels”

This removes the ambiguity criminals rely on.

8. Wallets remove the need to expose raw personal data

Elderly people are constantly tricked into giving out:

• SSN

• address

• card details

• passwords

Wallets use selective disclosure:

• “prove I am over 65” without revealing the birthdate

• “prove I have a valid insurance” without revealing policy numbers

• “prove my identity to the bank” without sending identity documents

Less data shared → less attack surface → less fraud.

The net effect

Wallets shift elderly people from:

❌ guessing who is real
❌ trusting suspicious messages
❌ being pressured into action

to:

✅ only interacting with verified entities
✅ automatic screening of everything inbound
✅ safe default behaviour with human oversight on high-risk actions

This is a huge societal win.
And honestly, the banks, insurance sector and municipalities should be pushing this harder.

Then it made a special Finextra version

 “How Digital Wallets Can Finally Protect the Elderly From Fraud”

The blunt reality is painful: fraud targeting elderly citizens keeps rising because the digital world still lets criminals pretend to be anyone.
Banks, municipalities, insurers, telecoms, even national police forces have the same problem: there is no reliable way to identify who is on the other end of a message or call.

EUDIW/EUBW-style wallets change this completely.

1. Verified senders — or nothing

Wallets require every incoming message, request, invoice or call to carry a cryptographically verified credential.
If it’s not verified, it’s blocked or flagged.
Impersonation dies right there — the trick fraudsters rely on simply stops working.

2. Payment protection built into the rails

Before an elderly user approves a payment or responds to a request, the wallet checks:

• verified IBAN ownership

• verified merchant or authority credentials

• verified sectoral trust registries

• validity, expiry, revocation status

If the sender cannot prove who they are, the action doesn’t proceed.
Elder fraud drops by orders of magnitude.

3. Delegation and signing become safe

Instead of handing over codes or clicking unknown links, older citizens sign or delegate only through their wallet.
Every delegation has a source.
Every signature is bound to a verified identity.
No scammer can fake this.

4. Optional guardianship — without losing autonomy

Wallets support “trusted-circle protection”:
notifications, co-signing rules, spending thresholds.
Family members can help without taking control.
This is dignity plus safety — a rare combination in digital services.

5. Deepfake-resistant communication

AI voice cloning is becoming the new attack vector.
Wallets cut through it by verifying the digital credential, not the voice.
No credential → no trust.

Why this matters to financial services

Because the sector is footing the bill for fraud that could be prevented by infrastructure.
EUBWs and EUDIWs finally give us rails where trust travels with the data.

The elderly deserve an internet where only verified actors can reach them.
Wallets deliver exactly that — and it’s long overdue."

Some way to go. But the jig-saw puzzle has enough pieces already.