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<\/p>\nWESTHAMPTON \u2014 Comcast representatives joined by state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa visited Westhampton Town Hall on Thursday to announce it will provide free Wi-Fi to the Woods Senior Housing complex while handing out free laptops to visitors.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes as a part of Comcast\u2019s new Lift Zone initiative, aiming to provide free Wi-Fi to communities across the country. About 20 residents attended the event, all receiving free laptops, while learning internet fluency skills through a presentation educating about online scams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am really excited about this initiative,\u201d said Sabadosa. \u201cIt has been a priority of mine to make sure every person in my district has internet access. That was not the case when I was elected.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Woods Senior Housing complex will be the 77th Lift Zone location in Massachusetts. Comcast\u2019s increased efforts are part of the larger initiative, Project Up, dedicating $1 billion to connect people to the internet. <\/p>\n
The Woods complex is a hub for senior programs. Christine Blakesley, coordinator of the Westhampton Council on Aging, hopes the internet access will provide more digital learning opportunities for local seniors.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Lift Zone is a game-changer for our seniors, especially when paired with a hands-on cybersecurity session, which helped participants better understand how to navigate the internet, as well as recognize and avoid scams,\u201d she said in a statement after the event.<\/p>\n
While Sabadosa lauded the importance of providing Wi-Fi in the district, she also emphasized the importance of educating the public on how to safely navigate the internet as well. <\/p>\n
Dan Glanville, Comcast\u2019s vice president of government affairs and community impact for the New England region, is a lifelong western Massachusetts resident. He feels it is important to boost high-speed internet to create more access to resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt provides access to high-speed internet at no cost, at really a digital literacy learning opportunity for everybody who utilizes it,\u201d Glanville said at the event about the Woods complex. \u201cIt has the capacity due to the fiber connectivity to have all of you connected at once at high speed, taking advantage of what is available there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Glanville noted cybersecurity scams have been a circulating issue recently. He too has been a victim of internet scams in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout five years ago, it said on my email that I had a voicemail,\u201d he said, detailing he clicked on the link. \u201cAs I did it, I knew I did something I shouldn\u2019t have. The corrective measure, while it took me two seconds to do that (click), it took me about four weeks to change all my passwords.\u201d<\/p>\n
The virtual presentation about internet safety was given by Patrick McGranaghan, Comcast senior manager of security awareness, detailing the different types of scams under the umbrella term \u2014 phishing. Many scammers use social engineering, a method that aims to trick people by impersonating someone. According to McGranaghan, these scams aim to trick people into mistakes, since data from 2025 shows 60% of cybersecurity breaches involve human error, the same percentage as last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been no shortage of cybersecurity breaches \u2026 but the \u2018why\u2019 side of criminals targeting us, and when I say \u2018us\u2019 I mean humans, is because unfortunately we\u2019re the weakest link and that\u2019s just the reality,\u201d he said during the presentation.<\/p>\n
McGranaghan said the top three scams that target older adults in 2025 include impersonations of tech support, government officials and use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate the voice of others. For example, AI scams may copy the voice of a family member claiming they need urgent financial aid or ask for other personal information.<\/p>\n
He talked about common types of phishing that many people receive, including text messages that say you need to pay a road toll, phone calls of someone impersonating another person and email scams. A more recent type of scam called spear phishing, creates targeted message based on small bits of information from a quick internet search on a individual. <\/p>\n
McGranaghan noted it is important to slow down before reacting to a scam message, to properly evaluate the message and make sure it is valid. Taking a moment to pause before reacting is key to not falling for scams. Strengthening passwords and refraining from clicking links from unknown sources is important to avoid scams. <\/p>\n
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation 2024 Internet Crime Report, information combined from 859,532 complaints of suspected internet crime reported losses exceeding $16 billion \u2014 a 33% increase in losses from 2023. As a group, people over the age of 60 suffered the most losses at nearly $5 billion and submitted the greatest number of complaints.<\/p>\n
After the presentation, free laptops were handed out to all residents in attendance, with couples receiving one as a pair.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was excellent, everyday I receive scam messages,\u201d town resident Deb Barthelette said about the presentation. \u201cWe can\u2019t protect ourselves enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barthelette also appreciated receiving a free laptop, \u201cIt was awesome, much appreciated.\u201d<\/p>\n
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