More on Identify Theft
Just wanted to let readers know that I’ve posted a new page on my Web site on ID theft against the elderly. It's in the Learn About Elder Abuse section. Highlights include:
Researchers disagree about who the culprits are: techies who hack or acquaintances who steal IDs the old fashioned way. Are corporate interests at play here?
The American Bar Association is urging legal aid attorneys to help ID theft victims.
“Combo crimes” involving thieves who use stolen identities to steal homes appear to be on the rise.
Other additions to the site include “Blog Brousing,” summaries and links to past postings, for your summer reading enjoyment.
2 comments:
Thank you so much for making elder abuse a priority.
My mission in life is to find as many outlets as possible to share solutions from our "just released" DVD entitled, "Saving our Parents." This DVD is being used as a training video for families, health care professionals, caregivers, hospital staff and government agencies throughout the world and won the 2007 Silver National Mature Media Award in its category of best in educational materials for older adults.
Hosted and narrated by Ed Asner (Mary Tyler Moore Show), and featuring LAPD Police Chief William Bratton and Los Angeles Director of Public Health, Dr. Jonathan Fielding, "Saving Our Parents" is a MUST SEE documentary that will help protect and educate our public servants, older adults and their adult children about safe and healthy aging.
"One elderly person is victimized every 2.7 minutes." By allowing me to post on your site, you are assisting in our mission to:
Prevent a million elders from becoming victimized
Raise $1 million to find a cure for Alzheimer’s - a portion of the sales proceeds will be donated to The John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation
Inspire & empower one million families to care for their loved ones in their golden years
Please take a moment to visit our website: www.savingourparents.com to view clips of our DVD and learn about discounted rates for orders.
With gratitude for all you do,
Dorothy Breininger, Producer, Saving our Parents, and
President, Delphi Center for Organization, Inc.
Debby Bitticks, Producer, Saving our Parents, and
CEO, Delphi Health Products, Inc.
SavingOurParents.com
A part of the presentation I make to seniors, sponsored by EFPN, has to do with ID theft issues. It is of great concern to me that when I ask seniors if they are carrying their social security cards with them, a majority of the group will raise their hands. Further, when I ask if they are carrying their Medicare cards, again a majority raise their hands. Upon further questioning, I find that many have Medicare only as their medical provider. Others, on the other hand, have an HMO. There is a difference. Medicare users must show their Medicare cards each time they have a doctors appointment. HMO users don't, as they have an ID card with a medical record number that is not their SS#. Very disturbing. Medicare is under pressure now to remove SS#'s from their cards, but due to the cost, they are reluctant. So in the meantime, it is prudent to do everything we can to protect our seniors from having their social security numbers compromised. Some of my tips include: 1) If Medicare is their primary medical coverage, I urge them to keep their cards at home except for the day of their appointment. Almost everyone has a calendar to keep track of their appointments. I urge them to not only note the date and time of their appointment, but also to note "take Medicare card". When travelling, bringing their cards with them is okay, but not to put in their wallet or purse. Perhaps in a coat pocket or somewhere that isn't likely to be stolen or snatched. If Medicate is not the provider, then there is no reason to carry either card at all! 2) Most men carry their wallets in their back pocket. Often the wallet is visible above the pocket. Prime target for thieves. I encourage men to not carry a wallet at all. Rather, put drivers license and other important cards as well as their paper money together and put a rubber band around the whole package and carry in their front pocket. A thief is not likely to try to get his hands inside a front pocket and not be caught. If someone insists on carrying their wallet in their back pocket, then put a rubber band around one way, then another around in the opposite direction. This creates enough friction to make it a little more difficult to get the wallet out undetected. An old trick, but useful. 3) We carry too many credit cards with us. I leave all charge cards at home and only carry the ones I plan on using on a particular day.
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