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Protecting Your Parents from ID Theft

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When we look at statistics,most of the people who are victims of ID theft are 50 years old or older. Unfortunately, cyber criminals have no issue taking advantage of older adults and seniors, including your parents.

old parentsThese crooks violate their trust and take advantage of their ignorance of the online world. People over 50 also tend to have more money and savings including retirement funds.

Here are some scams that are commonly pulled on older adults and seniors…like your parents.

Common Scams Targeting Your Parents

  • They get an email that seems like it is coming from their bank, the FBI, IRS, etc. The email claims that there is an issue that needs to be taken care of ASAP. Typically, it’s financial, so the scammer asks for their bank account information, or it’s for information, and they ask for a Social Security number.
  • They get a call with a sad story…their kid/grandkid needs help, and they need money wired immediately.
  • They might also get a call, email, or letter concerning their mortgage. If a scammer can get access to information like your parents’ bank information, Social Security number, or even the deed to their home, they can refinance your parents’ mortgage and keep the equity they get back.
  • There are also retirement home scams. In these scams, scammers get a job at a retirement home, and then manipulate the residents to tell them personal information.

How to Prevent These Scams

Here are some ways that you can prevent scams like these:

  • Make yourself a guardian over the personal information of your parents. When they get some type of contact that seems suspicious, you should instruct them to get in touch with you. Any information, even your mother’s maiden name, can be used in an identity theft attempt. Tell your parents to never give their personal info to anyone over the phone or via email.
  • Make sure they know to never share any personal information on social media accounts.
  • Tell your parents to check their bank accounts and credit accounts regularly. You should work with them to sign up for alerts for suspicious transactions.
  • Give them a shredder so that they can get rid of things like bank statements safely. Anything with account information, a Social Security number, or other personal info should be shredded.
  • If your parent is using a Wi-Fi hotspot, you should install a VPN for them.
  • If your parent has recently passed away, make sure you don’t put too much unnecessary information in their obituary. These are hot zones for ID theft, so leave out any info an identity thief could use.
  • Show your parents that they should only put information into a website that starts with https://, NOT http://.
  • Also, talk to your parents about emailing safely. Phishing scams are very good, so tell them not to click on any link in an email.
  • Sign your parents up for the website OptOutPrescreen.com. This helps to cut out any unnecessary offers they might receive.

Keep an Eye Out for Scammers

Don’t let your parents become a victim. You can easily prevent it, and more importantly, your parents won’t have to go through the process of rebuilding their credit and recovering their identity. Taking action now is the best way to protect against ID theft. Knowing if your parents are doing something that is risky could definitely be in your favor, as you can help them figure out what is going on and stop it.

Protecting Their Identity

We are all pretty vulnerable when it comes to ID theft, but older people are much more vulnerable. You can’t totally protect yourself and your parents, but you can make it much less likely that something will happen if you take the advice above. It’s always also worth it to invest in ID theft protection for both you and your parents, and you also might even consider a credit freeze.

Written by Robert Siciliano, CEO of Credit Parent, Head of Training & Security Awareness Expert at Protect Now, #1 Best Selling Amazon author, Media Personality & Architect of CSI Protection Certification.

How to Protect Your Parents from ID Theft

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According to research, people who are older than 50 years old, usually in the 65 to 85-year old range, are common targets of ID thieves. These criminals have no issue taking advantage of these people. They know that they are trustworthy, that they don’t know much about the internet, and that they are not savvy about scams. The bad guys also know that these people have more savings and retirement cash than others, and they are ready to take it. Here are some ways that these criminals scam your parents:

old parents

  • They often send emails to older people saying they are from their bank, the IRS, the FBI, or the CIA. The email claims that there is an issue that requires their attention. Then, they ask for information like their Social Security number or even their bank account numbers.
  • Another common scam is to toy with their emotions. In this case, the criminal calls the older person and says that they are someone the person knows, such as a grandchild, and claim that there is an emergency and they need money.
  • These scammers also try to take advantage of older people by using information about their homes. For instance, they can access a deed, and then use their Social Security numbers and bank account information to refinance, and then take the money.
  • The bad guys also take advantage of people who are in retirement homes. They start working there, and then manipulate the people living there to offer up personal info.
  • These criminals also seek out lonely people. If your parent is single, for instance, they can be a target because they are lonely and crave attention, resulting in a bank account draining romance scam.

How to Prevent Scams Against Older People

It is likely that you want to do all you can to prevent this from happening to your loved ones. Here are some tips:

  • Become the main caretaker for your parents’ personal info and financial accounts. This way, if your parents are contacted by someone suspicious, they have to go through you to get information. Even info like your mom’s maiden name can be used to commit some type of scam in the future. Make sure your parents are aware that they should not ever share any personal info, and that any request for money should go through you.
  • Do not share any personal information on any social media site. Criminals look for this, and they can target your parents by doing things like posing as their grandchildren online.
  • Make sure your parents check bank accounts and credit cards with regularity. Also, set up on your email and phone push email and text alerts about their account activity.
  • Buy them a shredder to get rid of things like bank statements. Criminals love to go through the trash to look for old financial statements.
  • If they use Wi-Fi, set up a VPN for them. Hotspots are public, and criminals can use them to get information.
  • If your parent passes away, don’t include any personal information about them in their obituary. Crooks use this information in malicious ways.
  • Talk to them about being safe with email. A common scam is phishing, and even if an email looks legitimate and safe, no one should click any links in them.
  • Help them understand the difference between http and https. Make sure they know that only https sites are secure.
  • Also, help them opt out of offers that are unnecessary. You can sign them up at com.
  • Talk to your parents about freezing their credit.

Stay Away from Scams

Do your best to not allow your parents to be the next victim of a scammer. It is easy to prevent this, and your parents will not have to go through the stress associated with identity theft.

Protect Their Identity

Any of us can become victims of ID theft, and we cannot protect ourselves every minute of the day. However, by taking these tips to heart and signing your parents up for ID theft protection and doing a credit freeze, you can keep them safe.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity and Personal Protection security awareness training program.

The Smart Parent Guide to Digital Literacy

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If you are the parent of a child or teen who uses the internet, here are some stats you need to know:

Stats About Teens and the Internet

  • Teens think that the internet is mostly private
  • They also think that they can make the best decisions for their life online
  • They believe they are safe online and that people are who they say they are
  • They don’t feel at risk if “friending” perfect strangers
  • They feel like since they are probably better at understanding technology, they can make better decisions than their parents about what’s best practice for online behavior

These are obviously naïve views of the digital world and if parents don’t fully explain why these views aren’t just wrong, but dangerous, then the parent is setting up their child for failure.

Make sure that you are keeping the lines of communication open with your kids about their internet use. Explain the risks involved and share stories of other teens who have found trouble online.

Internet Rules that Parents Should Consider

It is recommended by experts that parents set up rules for their kids in regards to internet use. Here are some:

  • Know every password that your kid has and use those passwords to check on their accounts.
  • Don’t let kids use social media, text friends, or chat online until they are in 9th or 10th grade, and never let kids use apps or sites that allow for anonymous communication.
  • There is NO reason why your 13 year old needs to be head deep in Snapchat or TikTok. NONE. Nothing good will come from it.
  • Give your kids a time limit for internet use
  • Don’t allow your kids to respond to messages from strangers, and never “friend” strangers.
  • Never give out any personal information, such as address or phone number, online.
  • Always be respectful and kind to others online; bullying should NEVER be allowed.
  • Do not allow your children to know your passwords.
  • Do not allow kids to use have access to their devices at all times. Have family time with no screens. i.e. game night, a walk to the local park, etc.
  • No phones in the bedroom. Buy laptops, not desktops. Laptops shouldn’t be allowed in the bedroom after homework is done.
  • No photos should be posted to an internet site without permission of parents.
  • Always check text messages, chat logs, or any other communication online, and make sure that kids understand that there will be consequences if they delete the messages.
  • Don’t allow kids to download any apps or software without your permission.

Don’t Make These Mistakes

  • Don’t give your child a traditional smart phone before 9th You can give them a feature-phone, that you have full access to, however.
  • Don’t give your child internet access that is unmonitored.
  • Don’t allow your kids to use the internet in closed rooms or in areas where you can’t see what they are doing.
  • Don’t allow them to play online games where chat is enabled, as these are common targets for sexual predators.

Just because other families are breaking most of these rules, doesn’t mean your family needs to. Don’t be cattle or sheep. Lead by example.

ROBERT SICILIANO CSP, is a #1 Best Selling Amazon author, CEO of CreditParent.com, the architect of the CSI Protection certification; a Cyber Social and Identity Protection security awareness training program.

Teen Tragic Love: Lesson for Parents?

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This story is kinda dark. Recently the ID Channel ran an episode called “Forbidden: Dying for Love — Together Forever, Forever Together.”

The 19-year-old was Tony Holt. Let’s call his 15-year-old girlfriend Kristen.

Kristen, 14, Falls Hard for Tony, 18

She met him when he was working at a grocery store. But he also happened to be a senior at her new high school. Prior to meeting him, Kristen knew her mother wouldn’t allow dating till she was 16.

Kristen’s mother eventually learned of the secret relationship and forbad it. The girl and Tony kept seeing each other on the sly. Mama learned of this and again, forbad it. Kristen then pretended the relationship was over and even talked of how she now hated Tony. Her mother was thrilled.

Meanwhile the teens kept sneaking around.

Forbidden love can be funner! Anyway, Mama found out again, stormed into the grocery store and angrily announced to Tony that if he ever went near her daughter again, she’d have him arrested for statutory rape. Which, is in fact statutory rape in many states.

The threat had him really scared about going to prison. He appeared at Mama’s house soon after and apologized for upsetting her and said that he and Kristen were going to cool it and just be friends.

But they continued seeing each other, and Mama discovered photos in Kristen’s bedroom of the two making out. More furious than ever, she forbad any contact. (Kristen’s father was out of the picture.)

Not long after, she got a call at work to come to the house. The police were there. Tony and Kristen were both dead from a gunshot wound to their heads.

A suicide note left by Kristen explained that the only way they could be together was to die and go to heaven where they could live happily ever after. Kristen had also left a suicide message on the answering machine, apologizing for the suicide pact. I’ll bet you didn’t see that one coming. Neither did I.

Questions to Wonder About

  • Why didn’t the teens decide to just avoid sex for three years, after which they could then marry and have up to 70 years of glory together? Abstinence is hardly an extreme move when you pit it against a murder-suicide.
  • What if Kristen’s mother permitted the relationship and even had Tony over every week for dinner? But what if, at the same time, she expressed her disapproval over their sexual relations?
  • What if she had said, “If you get pregnant, you’ll be grounded – by your baby. I won’t report statutory rape, but I also won’t help you out with the baby, either.”

That last warning may sound harsh, but it’s a crapshoot type of warning: It just might work.

Lessons Learned

  • You can’t stop two love-struck teens from seeing each other, so you may as well be civil to the unapproved young man.
  • While it’s important to stand your ground as a parent, there also comes a time when a sweet spot needs to be figured out. After all, not only might there be a suicide pact, but there are quite a few documentaries in which the forbidden young man murdered his girlfriend’s disapproving parents.
  • It’s never too early to teach your children the virtues of delayed gratification.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of Identity Theft Privacy: Security Protection and Fraud Prevention: Your Guide to Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft and Computer Fraud. See him knock’em dead in this Security Awareness Training video.