For Rita Barbosa, the idea for her startup, Guardian Labs, began when a phone scam targeted her grandmother. She recounts:
“The scammers told her that the water she was drinking wasn't safe. They led her to believe there was something wrong with the water — there wasn’t — and that she was, in a way, contaminating her and us. She thought, "I can't live with contaminating my grandchildren and children."
So she bought four water filters, each for around €1,000, when each filter was actually worth around €20.”
For Barbosa, “it was such a shock — not because she was scammed, but because of the way she reacted to it. "
"She basically said to herself, "After this, I can't really use technology. This isn't something I should be doing alone." It really took a toll on her independence. She stopped picking up the phone altogether. At the time, I thought to myself, what can I do to prevent this, besides telling her, "Hey, don't pick up the phone"?
