Older adults are red meat for identity thieves. TrustedID, which sells identity protection products, listed the top reasons why:
* Many older adults, especially those 65 and older, rely on caregivers, who have easy access to their personal information.
* Telephone scams, a popular and long-standing identity theft tactic, target adults 50 and older because this population is more accustomed to making purchases over the phone.
* For some identity thieves, access to health insurance is a valuable commodity and they will assume or sell identities for that access.
* More frequent travel can put older adults at risk. Traveling to places where people often rely on public, unprotected Wi-Fi, questionable ATMs and various hotel/resort staff may increase the risk for identity theft.