[TriciaR]

LiveLife Fall alarm hacked​

​

Today, I'm posting on behalf of member @GranniCaz who wished to alert the community of their recent experience with their LiveLife alarm possibly being hacked.


'FYI and for your members and subscribers discussion; I have emailed the Aged Service Coordinator,Aged Care Service Provider and the Alarm supplier yesterday (Anzac Day of course) and again early this morning regarding my concerns; no response thus far.

My dad and I are Very ALARMED.
Sitting at table with dad yesterday we heard a message come out of his LiveLife FALL alarm

at 1.45pm

It said “Your UPS parcel” in English ..,and the rest of the message in Chinese!!!!

The alarm was then triggered twice, possibly by the hacker, or most likely by Dad trying to switch it off

“Has it been hacked”, is the question I have left with the Customer Service number (unmanned yesterday) and emailed to Livelife Alarms. ???
If not hacked then “Someone??” has unauthorised access to the number. Very concerning !

The fact that dad then removed it bothers me intensely; convinced him to wear it for fall safety until the privacy issue can be resolved. Understandably he (and I!!) are concerned that security of the device was not addressed by LiveLife Alarms before being released to our vulnerable and Elders.

WHAT THE HELL becomes of Elders who do NOT have advocates and support; and consequently who are afraid to complain, are treated with contempt and dismissal and consequently fail to wear their alarms in understandable fear, rendering themselves victim to falls?!?!'

Update as of May 1st, 2024

Please find below the response from LiveLife:

'I can confirm the alarm was not hacked. The alarms have a sim card in them like any mobile phone. The only thing you can do by calling the number is speak to the wearer, this does not give you access to the device or the device information. It is not possible to make the alarm activate by calling the alarm.

The alarms can be whitelisted, when this is done only the emergency contacts entered in the device can call the device. The reason this is not automatically done for every order is we have a large number of wearers who have many more than the 6 numbers entered wanting to call the device. The whitelisting can be done at any time, from the date of order to remotely over the phone after the wearer has received the device


Our support team is experiencing a longer than normal wait time currently due to the 3G shutdown. We have employed additional personnel and extending our opening times to assist with the customer wait time during this transition period.

The sales team remain available with little to no wait time to assist any callers. '

 

[Lorie]

Very concerning indeed!

 

[Dennis]

When I first received my alarm over a period of time I received 7 phone calls from hackers but have not received any for a long time. I told them I was recording the phone call to send to the appropriate person.

 

[kerrikennel]

Considering how easy it is for spammers to "steal" phone numbers, I'm assuming that's what's happening to your dad.

 

[bob hollingsworth]

re first day of the month we used to reply with AND HERES A KICK FOR BEING SO QUICK p/s i/m 81 thanks

 

[Lisa]

For a start UPS is in the States, secondly I would contact the company and ask the question...they are the only ones who can fix this problem

 

[PattiB]

That is very concerning as I have two friends with these alarms, one with dementia who often accidentally sets it off. I am 2nd on call & usually call the alarm in case she’s had a fall & this confuses her because she can hear me but I’m not there. Fortunately I’m only 5 minutes away. I hope no one ever hacks hers. My other friend would cope as its other health problems with her. I’m am so angry with these “scumbag” hackers!

 

[Janka]

I also have a live life alarm which out of the blue went on while on charge a couple of weeks ago it then also had a mans voice speaking in Chinese language. I have not worn it since.Janet

 

[PattiB]

I also have a live life alarm which out of the blue went on while on charge a couple of weeks ago it then also had a mans voice speaking in Chinese language. I have not worn it since.Janet

This is concerning but I suppose as it works by mobile phone the numbers have been hacked. It’s a problem for a lot of elderly people especially those with dementia or many who are simply easily upset. Don’t stop wearing it Janka, wouldn’t like you to have a fall & not be able to get help. I do hope something can be done for owners of such alarms.

 

[LiveLife Alarms]

The alarm has a sim card just like any mobile phone, people can reach this by randomly dialling numbers if they do not have the alarm number. They are not hacking into the alarm by calling the alarm, the only thing they can do is speak to the wearer.

You can have the alarm whitelisted which will mean only the emergency contacts entered into the alarm can call the alarm.

If you give the LiveLife Alarms support team a call on 1800 936 774 - option 2 and ask that they whitelist the alarm, they can do this remotely for you.

 

[ean_mano]

The 2023 CHOICE Shonky Awards go to…​

• Woolworths and Coles – for cashing in during a cost-of-living crisis
• RentTech – for 'data gouging' people desperate to find a home
• Personal alarms – for being unreliable and hard to use
• Kogan First – for tricking customers into a $99 sign-up
• Xbox Mini Fridge – for being a 'fridge' that doesn't make things cold

Choice is an Australian website.
The problems with personnel alert systems are well known. Suggest, anyone considering having a read.
But choice says
"We've found these devices are unreliable at best, and often simply don't work"

Please have a look at https://carecallingnow.com/why-medi...all-and-have-a-call-alarm-do-not-activate-it/
CareCallingNow rings every day to check that your loved one is OKAY
Check it out and get a 14-day free trial.

CareCallinNow Team
Ps just to let you know there are alternatives. If this post is against policy I apologize in advance.

 

[Reet]

I had a call on my safeTuse personal alarm some time ago from a person trying to sell something. I asked him how he got the number and explained that it was not a normal telephone number but an emergency number and he apologised and said he just used random numbers to call people. I have not had this type of call since.

 

[Janka]

This is concerning but I suppose as it works by mobile phone the numbers have been hacked. It’s a problem for a lot of elderly people especially those with dementia or many who are simply easily upset. Don’t stop wearing it Janka, wouldn’t like you to have a fall & not be able to get help. I do hope something can be done for owners of such alarms.

 

[Janka]

Thank you for your reassuring reply Janka . Much appreciated. Janet

 

[GranniCaz]

For a start UPS is in the States, secondly I would contact the company and ask the question...they are the only ones who can fix this problem

Thank you, I do understand the signifance of UPS; and I DID manage to contact the company 3 calls, an email and 23 hours later to have the call blocked.. successfully. However, the warning to members, their families AND their care providers was that they should check that the alarms are vulnerable to intervention UNLESS unnecessary calls are blocked .

 

[GranniCaz]

The alarm companies AND the agencies recommending these alarms would do WELL and represent Duty of Care by indicating to users and families/ caregivers, upon delivery and setup, that external intervention from unwanted/intimidating calls may occur unless calls other than emergency contacts are blocked. Whilst it has been indicated to the end user, that their alarms were not hacked, their comfort of life has been, and whilst it has been stated that an external’ phone call cannot activate the alarm, the immediate reaction I witnessed was for the elder to press the alarm to disconnect the call, thus activating the alarm.
Duty of Care of security for our Elders, our emotionally and physically isolated and vulnerable, please .

 

[GranniCaz]

Thank You with utmost gratitude to Seniors Discount Club for highlighting this “alarming” issue.

This platform gives VOICE, support and AWARENESS to our many Elders, vulnerable and carers who may otherwise fall through the many cracks in agency responsibility.

MUCH GRATITUDE

 

[Clancieblue]

That is good news for GranniCaz ,Tricia, so glad you followed that up and put minds at rest.