While it might seem like senior citizens have been around the block long enough to know how to recognize and avoid situations that put them at risk for identity theft, unfortunately they are actually becoming a highly targeted group of people.
Here are just a few reasons for reported increases in senior citizen identity theft:
• Sometimes, seniors especially those in retirement have larger checking and savings accounts than younger people who are still working to pay off car loans, mortgages, and other major financial obligations (such as college debt).
• Many seniors receive Medicare or Medicaid benefits, which opens the door for identity theft in the medical sector.
• Generally, seniors don't check their credit reports as often as do younger people, mostly because the main reasons for checking to take out home or auto loans, or to open a new credit card are no longer relevant to many seniors.
• Some seniors don't stay on top of the latest fraud attempts related to phishing e-mail and websites, or telephone scams, and they might not have many family members to help keep them educated and sort through any problems.
• Many seniors are reluctant to talk about a potential identity theft problem with their family members because they don't want to appear as though they're not capable of managing their own affairs.
