Credit Card Fraud With Seniors: How To Protect Them

Our elderly parents and grandparents have worked successful and fulfilling lives. They achieved most of what they wanted, and developed a nice nest egg so they can enjoy themselves with vacations or purchases that allows them to live comfortably.

This scenario is enticing to scammers and identity thieves. They don’t care that your parents or grandparents worked hard to save away every cent. They don’t care that the saved funds are so that your parents and grandparents can pay for emergencies and other necessities after retirement. And they don’t care that you will inherit money when your parents or grandparents pass away.

All that the scammers and identity thieves want is to rip people off of their money for their own greedy gains. This can be done in a number of ways, but most often it is related to credit card fraud. Stealing credit card information is the easiest type of scam to commit, and the victim might not find out about it for years.


How Thieves Obtain Senior Citizen Credit Card Information

Thieves will target senior citizens through products and services specifically for them. It might be done over the phone, or through an email advertisement. The senior citizen will be asked for their credit card information to make a purchase or verify a purchase made. It could be for a limited-time deal that the thief claims will not be offered again.

Thieves can also obtain the information through the garbage. Credit statements and account information that the senior citizen threw away can be salvaged by the thief. Then the thief will call the senior citizen, claiming they are performing a service to the senior’s account or need to verify purchases to the account. With the information on the credit statements, the thief can look as if he is actually a representative of the credit card company. All he has to do is ask the right questions, and he can get the rest of the senior’s credit information such as card numbers, birth dates, and social security numbers.

Senior citizens should also be careful of personal caregivers and home health aides. Although most certified health professionals go through a criminal background screening, credit card theft sometimes happens when a caregiver sees the senior citizen’s credit card information and uses it for their own purposes.

Here is a list of the top scams committed against senior citizens:

Counterfeit prescription drugs
Funeral and cemetery fraud
Fraudulent Anti-aging products
Telemarketing fraud

Medical and insurance fraud are other types of scams committed against senior citizens, although they normally do not involve the use of the senior citizen’s credit card.


How To Protect The Elderly From Credit Card Fraud

Sometimes it can be difficult to help our elderly parents and grandparents. They may not take kindly with other people making suggestions about their finances. Or they may have had fraud committed and are to embarrassed to tell anyone in fear that it may seem as if they are having mental or memory problems, as this will cause them to be sent off to a care home.

It’s important to speak with them about taking precautions with their credit card information. Let them know that you are only concerned with their safety and want to make sure their finances are secure. Tell them the dangers of telemarketing and email scams targeted in obtaining credit card information. Warn them about fraudulent anti-aging product claims and other products they may never get in the mail.

Also, stop in on your elderly parents and grandparents when the caregiver comes to the home. Even if your parents or grandparents trust the caregiver, it doesn’t mean that the elderly should leave any important information out for the caregiver to see. Lock up all information in a safe or shred credit card statements before placing them in the trash. Keep an eye on the caregiver. If the person seems to be snooping in drawers and cabinets, seek out someone else to give personal care to your parents or grandparents.

You can also take other steps to safeguard the elderly’s credit card information. Have them check their credit card accounts online to reduce the amount of paperwork that they receive through the mail. Also, check their regular mail periodically. They may receive letters from people who claim to be from charitable organizations asking for credit card information. Verify that the organizations are legitimate and note any sudden changes in authorized payments to ensure that your parents or grandparents haven’t fallen for a charity scam.

Also be wary of new friends asking for money or family members who have a drug problem, gambling debt, or other financial issues. Although it sounds terrible, there are people in the family or close friends who may take advantage of the elderly.

Source: http://irebuildcredit.com/