Has your mother loaned out her credit card? Is she sneaking out of the home for weekend shopping sprees? Not likely. It’s more likely she’s become a victim of identity theft and credit card fraud.

Identity theft and credit card fraud are common crimes among senior citizens, particularly those who live in nursing homes and assisted living centers. Seniors in these facilities are more vulnerable to these crimes because they are unable to care for themselves in many cases, and because their personal and financial information is available to employees and caregivers who may not be the most honest creatures. It’s also due to the fact that the elderly are more trusting, and are apt to give someone their Social Security number or other information.

Seniors are also less likely to check their credit card statements, they don’t check their credit reports and don’t monitor their bank statements. Because of this, a criminal can do a lot of damage before the theft is discovered.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, reports of identity theft involving people over 50 represented about 28 percent of the total cases in 2010.

Seniors must learn to protect their Social Security numbers, lock up their credit cards, and put security freezes on their credit reports. If they are unable to do so, a trusted family member or friend should take care of this. If the senior is a resident of a care facility, his or her wallet and other personal or financial information should be secured and catalogued.

Etoty used the stolen information of a disabled person for 25 years.

In 1984, Etoty stole identity information from a disabled Illinois resident and used it to obtain a Social Security card in the resident’s name. She used the card to impersonate the victim for a more than two decades, opening bank accounts and applying for lines of credit.

Why are the elderly such easy prey when it comes to identity theft? Perhaps it’s because so many of them are disabled, or because not many elderly people are vigilant about checking their credit and bank statements for unauthorized activity.

Perhaps the greatest reason is easy access. Elders with disabilities are more likely to have in-home helpers, which are often hired via newspaper ads or referral services. These workers, who are less likely to have been screened or to be supervised by agencies, have access to the homes of these home-bound elders, their property and documents.

Another way thieves obtain information is by watching obituaries and stealing death certificates. They use them to obtain information about the deceased from Social Security Death Index files. The Social Security Administration does not promptly transmit Death Master Files to financial institutions, so accounts and credit files can stay open for years. Thieves access these accounts, leaving spouses of family members with the mounting debt.

If you are hiring an at-home caregiver for yourself or a loved one, be sure to hire through a reputable agency, to be sure the caregiver has been thoroughly screened. Do not give personal information to a caregiver, including bank account numbers. If a loved one needs help paying bills or running errands, this should be done by a family member or trusted friend, not the caregiver.

Dealing with a sick loved one or the death of a loved one is painful enough – take a few extra precautions to be sure you don’t have to deal with identity theft as well.

According to police reports, Becky L. Iverson befriended the man while she work for a real estate firm. He and his wife sold their home through the firm in 2007.

Iverson volunteered to help the couple by running errands for them, and forged checks on the man’s bank account and withdrew money for more than a year.

In an unrelated case, a Buffalo, N.Y. woman convicted of aggravated identity theft was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay $16,194.43 in restitution.

Georgia F. Bowen, 35, repeatedly used the name and Social Security number of another person to obtain Medicaid benefits totaling $13,029.84, utilities from National Grid totaling $2,376.83 and National Fuel in the amount of $787.76 for services at her homes in Buffalo and Kenmore.

She also used the victim’s name when traveling in Canada and Jamaica.

How do people get away with this kind of thing?

In either of these cases, it’s anybody’s guess. But in the Buffalo case, it’s likely the victim didn’t realize his identity was stolen for an extended period of time, which enabled the criminal to continue to use the stolen identity.

On the other hand, it’s easy to see how Iverson got away with her alleged crimes for such a long time. Elderly victims of identity theft are often very trusting, and aren’t vigilant when it comes to checking their bank or credit card accounts.

How can you prevent becoming a victim of identity theft? First of all, when you receive your bank or credit card statements each month, check them carefully. Be sure to shred any documents that contain your personal information prior to disposal.

You should also check your credit reports. If you suspect there may be fraudulent activity, you should place fraud alerts on your credit report.

You should also opt out of pre-approved credit offers. Criminals who wish to commit identity theft often steal mail and obtain credit cards in the name of the victim.

If you do fall victim, report the crime to your local police department. You’ll need a police report to submit to creditors as proof that you were a crime victim. You should also close the compromised accounts.

In the end, prevention is all about being vigilant. It’s your personal information, and you have to guard it – every minute of every day. But who has time for that?

The best way to take care of your information is to sign up for LifeLock. Call or go online today.

Receive 30 days free and get a 10 percent discount on enrollment with the LifeLock Promo Code “Defense.”

Anyone can become an identity theft victim. Persons that are profoundly disabled, such as the mentally impaired or the frail elderly, often cannot manage their own health care matters and are therefore more vulnerable. They must rely on family members or caregivers to fill out medical forms and take care of their medical business affairs.

When a caregiver, or even a family member, is responsible for receiving and paying the medical bills of those unable to care for themselves, they may not be able to determine whether the services listed on the bill are actual or fraudulent, and they may pay for services not even received by the patient.

Medical identity theft can also lead to altered medical records. This is particularly dangerous for the victim, because if the thief receives medical care by using stolen information, that information is entered into the victim’s file and could affect the type of care the victim receives in the future. This could compromise the victim’s own treatment and ability to obtain services.

And insurance companies won’t cover the loss. A medical theft victim may have to pay to keep his health insurance or may end up paying higher premiums to restore the coverage.

But a caregiver can help protect a vulnerable patient against medical identity theft. Besides paying attention to bills and statements of service, a caregiver can:

• Suggest to health care providers that patients should show a photo ID at appointments.
• Caregivers are urged to keep a journal of all medical treatments for the patient to match against incoming medical statements and bills for services.
• Keep all statements, bill records and correspondence letters filed for easy access.
• Communicate with the insurance company and question anything suspicious.
• Check with the three major credit reporting agencies for medical or other unauthorized activity.
• Know how to get help for medical identity theft.

Thieves gather private information from medical records – information that can be used to clean out bank accounts, get a passport and access health care services. But these steps can help protect you and those you love.

To be sure your personal information is safe and to be proactive, call LifeLock today. Receive 30 days free and get a 10 percent discount on enrollment with the LifeLock Promo Code “Defense.”

“To steal the identities of elderly people, especially one who has Alzheimer’s, is unfathomable,” said Paul Montemuro, assistant state’s attorney. “It’s really a terrible crime because this was when people are (sic) at their most vulnerable.”

This particular identity theft case may be unfathomable to Montemuro, but, as someone who reads and writes about identity theft every day, I know that crimes like this one happen everyday.

I find these cases especially disturbing because my parents are in their 80s and my mother has Alzheimer’s Disease. Though Mom’s been able to stay in her own home so far, we dread the day we have to move her to a secured memory-care facility. We’ve already started researching local assisted living facilities, but we know that no matter how pretty, clean and bright her next home may be, she’ll be painfully vulnerable to her caregivers there.

LifeLock reviews identity theft trends regularly, and creates new strategies to combat identity thieves who seek out victims who are most vulnerable.

When you’re faced with the heartache of a parent’s decline, disease or death, you don’t need the additional outrage of their becoming an identity theft victim. I urge anyone with elderly parents to help protect them with identity theft protection from LifeLock.

To learn more about how LifeLock helps to protect their members, visit their website at LifeLock.com. Enroll using the discount code Defense (referred to as a promotion code on their site) to receive a discount on service.