Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

The Grave is No Barrier to Identity Thieves

Excerpt from: German Law Group, P.C. (click for full article)

 

If you’ve ever been the victim of identity theft you know how aggravating it can be. Yet, even if you haven’t been victimized by identity thieves you may still have to deal with the problem because a thief has stolen the identity of a deceased relative.

According to a new study about 2 ½ million deceased Americans have their identities stolen every year. When this happens, the former spouses and family members of the deceased person are often left to deal with the mess.

According to financial security firm ID Analytics, identity thieves stole the Social Security numbers of about 1.6 million Americans last year. In another 800,000 instances, criminals used a deceased person’s identity to apply for credit cards, cell phone service, or other lines of credit. This type of identity theft can cause a headache for the deceased person’s family members, but they won’t be responsible for paying back any debt.

The Great Switch to Paperless Benefits

Excerpt from: AARP (click for full article)

 

Uncle Sam doesn't mean to nag. But for nearly three years he has asked beneficiaries of Social Security, Veterans Affairs and other government programs to sign up by March 1, 2013, to get their monthly benefits electronically instead of by paper check.

However, several million retirees and other recipients still haven't made the switch. If you're among them, you'll still collect your monthly benefit by check. But until you sign up to have your benefit deposited directly into a bank account or credit union account — or loaded onto a prepaid debit card, such as the government's Direct Express or a privately issued card that meets requirements for loading government benefits — expect stern warnings.

"No one's payment will be interrupted," says Treasury Department official Walt Henderson. But recipients who haven't made the switch "will hear from Treasury via mail about their options for complying with the law."

Collecting payments electronically minimizes the risk for identity theft because there are no checks to be stolen from a mailbox. With benefits on a prepaid card, you can get cash withdrawals at a bank or make purchases.

Elder Defense Against Identity Theft

Excerpt from: Elder Law of Arizonza Blog (click for full article)

 

Elders are particularly prone to identity theft for a number of reasons. They are often not savvy about the risks involved, particularly when they involve online commerce. Elders are often overly trusting of telephone solicitors who use pretexts to obtain confidential personal information, and they often don’t check their bank and credit card statements for unauthorized transactions. As a result they or their families often discover months or years later that their assets have been subject to theft by criminals who were able to open bank or credit accounts in their names.

Many elders mistakenly believe that they are protected against identity theft because they never conduct on-line transactions, and use cash or checks in lieu of credit cards (both of these are still sensible measures for many elders). However, once a criminal obtains a name, address, phone number, date of birth and social security number they have everything needed to open a new financial account in the elder’s name, from which they can siphon off the elder’s savings, even though the elder has never authorized any credit accounts. Also, consider that the necessary personal information for identity theft is already in the possession of one of the most frequent types of criminal—other family members (it’s sad to say).