Protecting the Elderly from Identity Theft
Courtesy of Neal O'Farrell, Executive Director, Identity Theft Counsel

If you have elderly parents or care for the elderly, especially if they live alone, you need to play close attention to their vulnerability to identity theft. According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft against the elderly accounts for as much as 10% of all identity theft victims.

Identity theft against the elderly has been called the silent epidemic because the victims may be too ashamed, frightened or confused to come forward. The elderly have always been a target for scams, but the growth of identity theft has only made the elderly even more vulnerable to all kinds of criminals with endless ideas for conning people most likely to trust them.

Whatever the true number is, there's little doubt that elders are particularly vulnerable to identity theft and are likely to continue to be targeted by thieves. And the reason is of course money. According to one report people over the age of 50 control more than 70% of the nation's household wealth - reason enough to target them.

In one case, a thief swindled two elderly women in North Carolina out of an estimated $100,000.

The Identity Theft Council is working on the case of an 87-year-old victim who has seen her home remortgaged without her consent, her retirement home sold to a stranger, a luxury car purchased in her name, more than a dozen credit cards taken out in her name, and her Social Security payments diverted.

The culprits? Her own kids. The victim has lost an estimated $200,000, not to mention trust, peace of mind, and  other devastating, but invisible, costs of identity theft. And to make matters worse, the police refuse to investigate, the District Attorney refuses to prosecute, and local adult protective services refuses to get involved.

Elders are most often victimized by people they know and trust, such as neighbors, friends, caregivers, and even family.

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, going on a spending spree and only getting caught more than a year after an alert family member got involved.

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

• 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.
• Utility fraud, where the thief uses the victim's personal details to pay for utilities like phone service. For whatever reason, one of the first things identity thieves do with stolen information is to take out new cell phone service in the victim's name.
• 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 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 the community, 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 mail be forwarded to you.
• Talk to them about the risks, give them a simple checklist of warning signs to watch out for, and encourage them to always 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 security in place and working.
• 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 home.
• DO NOT allow hired care providers, chore workers etc. to open mail or handle any financial transactions
• If appropriate, offer to handle all financial transactions and account management for the individual, and have them refer any financial enquiries, proposals, or problems directly to you.
• Work with their financial institution 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 like utility bills so that 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 regularly check their credit reports and if possible set them up with a credit monitoring service with alerts sent directly to you.

For more information visit The Identity Theft Counsel.