Seniors and Identity Theft Protection
Senior Citizens and Identity Theft
Courtesy of Credit.PrivacyMatters.comSM
If there's one demographic group that might be considered an obvious target for identity theft, senior citizens would probably be that group. After all, they've had more time to build up assets, they're often less technologically inclined than younger people, and as a result, they may be less likely to engage in identity theft prevention and protection measures.
Beyond that, having already made their substantial purchases of homes and cars, senior citizens might be less likely to check their credit reports and credit scores, much less monitor them regularly. This reduces their chances of discovering an incident of identity theft in a timely manner, and identity thieves, like most criminals, tend to prefer the path of least resistance.
Oddly, the few studies that have been conducted on identity theft risks among senior citizens don't fully support the notion that seniors are more likely to be targeted by identity thieves than any other segment of the population. In particular, a Better Business Bureau report on identity fraud1, released in January 2006, stated that senior citizens are less likely to be victimized than people aged 25-34; in fact, only 2.3% of people aged 65+ reported that they'd been identity fraud victims. The same report also noted that senior citizens who have their identities compromised lose an average amount of $2,665, less than half the amount of citizens aged 25-34 ($6,270) and less than a third of the amount for the 35-44 age group ($9,435).
Beyond that, the Experian Gallup Personal Credit Index released in August 2005 stated that, while 11% of people aged 65 or older reported being victims of identity theft, that was a lower percentage than the 18% of victims between age 30 and 65, and much lower than the 25% of victims under the age of 30.2
Does this mean senior citizens don't need to worry about identity theft risks? Of course not. There are several possible reasons why seniors don't report identity theft fraud when it happens to them, including:
- A more trusting nature. This generation of senior citizens grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. As perilous as those times were, the country ultimately banded together to overcome those challenges. The resulting communal trust may lead to a sense of safety among senior citizens that no one would be dastardly enough to steal their identities and the assets they worked so diligently to gather. Unfortunately, as more seniors begin to require in-home help and additional outside support, their trusting natures won't protect them against predatory caretakers and other visitors.
- A sense of pride. Tom Brokaw didn't name our current senior citizens "The Greatest Generation" for nothing. They share a spirit of independence and a belief in their abilities, two positive traits that might nevertheless work against them in the online world. Criminals are often on the cutting edge of new technology that can aid in identity theft; seniors as a group are often slower to adapt to technological changes and/or to upgrade their identity theft prevention tools, leaving them less informed of and more vulnerable to the latest identity theft risks.
- A sense of shame. Given their justifiable pride, having one's name, property, and trust stolen after living long and often admirable lives isn't an easy thing for seniors to accept — or admit to. These days, identity theft that hits senior citizens can also lead to questions about their mental faculties, especially from their children. No one wants to be branded "daffy" (or worse), since that's often the first step in a process that ends at a rest home. Some senior citizens may think it's better to try to hide the theft of their identity than to admit that they've been duped.
Identity thieves don't discriminate by age, so senior citizens need to be as diligent in preventing identity theft as they were in working to create "The Greatest Generation." The same identity prevention steps that are recommended for working-age folks also apply to retirement-age folks, but with one significant addition: Be very careful with your Medicare cards, which typically use your Social Security number as an individual identifying factor. Social Security numbers are the Holy Grail for identity thieves, so it's recommended that you make a photocopy of your original Medicare card, then black out at least the last four digits of your Social Security number on the photocopy and carry that around instead of the original. You'll still need your original Medicare card the first time you visit a healthcare provider, but after that initial visit, your photocopy should suffice.
It's a sad fact of life that identity theft is a risk that can now follow you from the cradle to the grave. Fortunately, one of the benefits of a long life is an accumulation of wisdom; senior citizens would be wise to take the necessary identity theft protection measures to help them enjoy their golden years without any tarnish to their identities.
