Protecting the Elderly From Identity Theft

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), identity theft against the elderly accounts for as much as 10% of all identity theft cases. Therefore, if you have elderly parents, or if you care for the elderly, it's important to play close attention to their vulnerability to identity theft — especially if they live alone.

It's been called the silent epidemic because, often, the elderly are too ashamed or confused to come forward and acknowledge that they have become identity theft victims. Unfortunately, they have always been a target for scams, and now the growth of identity theft has only made them even more vulnerable to criminals with endless ideas for conning the people most likely to trust them.

Whatever the true number of elderly identity theft victims is, there's little doubt that they are particularly vulnerable to it and are likely to continue to be targeted by thieves. One big reason, of course, is money. According to one report, people over the age of 50 control more than 70 percent of the nation's household wealth. That gives identity thieves reason enough to target them.

In fact, in one case, a thief swindled two elderly women in North Carolina out of an estimated $100,000 simply by calling the victims claiming to be a representative of their bank. That cover enabled the thieves to persuade the women into revealing their bank account numbers and passwords.

In another case, an elderly couple had to spend nearly seven years recovering from identity theft. Dozens of fraudulent accounts had been opened in their names at a cost of more than $100,000.

But identity theft frauds are not restricted to money. There are a growing number of cases of food stamp identity theft, such as in the case of an elderly woman who reported that her entire monthly food stamp allotment had been wiped out by a con man. He had called her on the phone and claimed to need her personal details to "re-certify" her in the food stamp program.

Scammers are also posing as police officers or representatives of police charities to trick thousands of victims into handing over their personal information. And, to make matters worse, the elderly are often victimized by people they know and trust, such as neighbors, friends, caregivers, and even family members.

In January 2009, an employee at a Georgia nursing home was charged with stealing the identities of dozens of elderly victims, some as old as 100 years. The thief went on a spending spree and was caught more than a year later, only after an alert family member became involved.

So, why are the elderly targeted by these heartless scammers? There are many reasons:

• They are more trusting, and less likely to be immediately suspicious of strangers.
• Many live alone, have no family to protect them, and are unable to resist high-pressure tactics.
• Loneliness may make them more likely to welcome a stranger into their home.
• They often have great credit, a paid-off home, and plenty of equity for a thief to tap. And many also keep large amounts of cash in their home.
• They're not naturally security savvy — so they're less likely to lock away their financial information, shred credit card offers, protect their mail, etc.
• They're more gullible to technology-based scams, like phishing, charity and lottery scams, and phone-based scams.

While the elderly are vulnerable to all types of identity theft and fraud, there are some scams more commonly targeted at this group, including:

• Utility fraud, where the thief uses the victim's personal details to pay for utilities such as phone service. In fact, one of the first things identity thieves do with stolen information is take out new cell phone service in the victim's name.
• Loan frauds, where the thief takes out new loans in the victim's name. Many victims have found their homes have been re-mortgaged, or new home equity loans taken out, often by family members.
• Theft of services, where the victim's information is used to steal medical services, Social Security services, and even food stamps.
• Account dripping, where the thief takes just a little money from bank accounts and credit cards over an extended period — thefts that usually go undetected.
• Account hijacking, when a thief, family member, or caregiver takes control of the victim's bank and credit card accounts, pensions, and Social Security payments.

If you're taking care of an elderly family member or friend, there are many easy ways you can help reduce their vulnerability to identity theft:

• The best thing you can do is to be around and stay in touch. Scammers are less likely to focus on an elderly victim if they know a family member is close by and vigilant.
• If you know and trust their neighbors, ask them to get more involved and keep an eye open.
• If the individual is in a nursing home or retirement community, do your homework on it. Talk to the operators or managers about security, and encourage the individual to keep as little personal or financial information with them as possible.
• If the individual is in a nursing home, suggest that all of their mail be forwarded to you.
• Talk to them about identity theft risks, give them a simple checklist of warning signs to watch out for, and encourage them always to call you before they buy something new, sign any legal or loan documents, or are pressured or harassed by any stranger.
• Conduct a regular home audit, making sure that all financial documentation is safely locked away, and that any computers have adequate, working security in place.
• If home help or caregivers are involved, let them know that you're watching out for that individual and will encourage the prosecution of any crime. If you can, do a criminal background check on any caregivers, home help, or anyone else that might have regular access to the elderly individual's home.
• If appropriate, offer to handle all financial transactions and account management for the individual, and have them refer any financial inquiries, proposals, or problems directly to you.
• Work with their bank and credit card providers so that they are also alert to any unusual activities or transactions on their accounts.
• Offer to check their incoming mail for suspicious offers, and to check their monthly bank and credit card statements to ensure there are no fraudulent charges or suspicious payments,
• Regularly check that the individual is receiving any Social Security benefits, pension payments, and health care they're entitled to, and that these entitlements or payments are not being diverted or misused.
• Offer to remove them from direct mailing lists to reduce the amount of junk mail they receive.
• Help them make regular payments for things, such as utility bills, so that their checks are not stolen in the mail.
• Consider placing a credit freeze on their credit reports to prevent any unauthorized credit. This freeze can easily be lifted if the individual wants to take out new credit.
• Check for any financial or utility accounts that are no longer used or needed, and close them if possible.
• Help them to check their credit reports regularly and, if possible, set them up with a credit monitoring service with alerts sent directly to you.