Geriatric Care Management Blog

Identity theft can happen to anyone, but in many respects seniors are easier prey.  First, they are the people who have a savings account or other nest egg that an identity thief may be trying to tap.  Second, they have had a career of earning and saving which has given them very respectable credit scores, and therefore an easy mark for someone looking to use someone else’s identity to run up a credit card bill.  So, whether you are a senior or have an older family member or a senior in your orbit, here are some signs to look out for to protect against senior identity theft. If you or the senior for whom you are a caregiver begin receiving telephone calls from creditors demanding payments for which you have no knowledge, it may be because someone has hijacked the senior’s identity and run up charges of which you are not aware.  Often, a senior eager to maintain their credit standing will simply pay without asking enough questions about the legitimacy of the debt. Be careful in going through credit card or other charge statements – even telephone bills - to be sure all charges are legitimate.  There has been a lot of news lately about “cramming” which is when charges are added to telephone bills by workers at the companies without the owners’ knowledge....