by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: July 06, 2010

Most of our elderly relatives have no desire to sit in front of a computer and do business all day! That is fortunate, because they are very vulnerable to all sorts of online identity theft schemes. We want to give them the benefits of being able to see photos and videos, of reading our e-mails and of staying in touch, but it is generally a tough sell to get an elderly person to put up with the complexities of working with the web.

Simply put, it is best to give them simple systems that allow e-mail and photo and video viewing, leaving the online banking and shopping alone! If the person is housebound, only a trusted and trustworthy person should arrange to make regular visits where they can review activity, then supervise and help with any online shopping and banking that is necessary.

Elderly relatives are most vulnerable to identity theft in the real world. They might say their pin numbers out loud as they are entering them at the supermarket. They might open the door or answer the phone when unscrupulous individuals intrude on their privacy. They might tell a perfect stranger their life stories, where they live and what they have. When these types of behavior are going on, it is time to spend more time with the elderly person and to help them with their shopping and other affairs.

This is also a good time to know and to observe for signs of the early onset of dementia, silent strokes, or alzheimers and any physical and emotional problems that are making life difficult for the elderly relative.

Family members, including grand and great grandchildren and close family friends are the worst offenders. The relative will leave everything from bank statements and checkbooks to social security numbers vulnerable to rifling and theft by their own loved ones. One or two individuals need to have powers of attorney and access to such information, then purses and papers need to be secured while relatives are visiting.

A responsible family member needs to help the person with checking their credit scores, getting identity theft information and insurance, or even putting a credit freeze on the three major credit services. The credit freeze is protected by a pin number that is issued to the individual. The pin number can be used to lift and reinstate freezes when needed, or the freeze can be left alone. Many states have senior and elderly discounts on the fees that are charged for credit freezes.

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