Identity theft is one of the most popular crimes in the United States, and as more senior citizens retire, they are often more prone to becoming a victim of this act. Once retired, seniors typically receive various government benefits and start taking cash from their retirement accounts, or even starting other investments. All of the increased activity results in personal information being needed by a variety of people, in order for retiring senior citizens to get the benefits and money they deserve. There are a number of ways in which your personal information can be stolen, so we put together some helpful information to aid you in protecting your information.
Organize and Protect All of Your Retirement Information: This may sound like a simple concept, but the process of retiring will generate more paperwork than when you buy a house. Therefore you need to be mindful of all the paperwork that you have regarding your retirement that has your personal information on it. The best bet is to have a good shredder handy so you can destroy all personal documents once they’re no longer needed.
Cautious Internet and Phone Communication: This does not mean that you should avoid going online or answering the phone, but always be aware of who you are interacting with and what information they should know about. When it comes to phone calls, you should be wary of giving your personal information out at all times, and if possible only provide it in person. This will eliminate the possibility that you will fall victim to someone calling seniors to try and extract personal information. The Internet is similar, in that you do not want to give your email address to every site that wants it, as it could lead to future fraudulent activity if that email account is hacked into. If you are not comfortable going online, then you might take a class where you get trained on what to look for and what to avoid.
Protect Family Who Has Passed: This is a tip that not many people know about, but very helpful as identity thieves often go after deceased individuals. Therefore you should makes sure that the Social Security Administration is in the loop if a loved one passes away. This will ensure that credit does not get issued to that person, via someone who is trying to steal their identity.
