The increasing identity theft occurrence among the elderly

Identity theft is an increasing concern among senior citizens and the Amherst, Massachusetts, police department is taking it upon themselves to teach seniors how to protect their personal information, WWLP-TV reports. Officer Jamie Reardon told the news source that as part of their effort to help elderly citizens, members of the police department visited Amherst Senior Center to show senior citizens how to obtain their free credit report through three major credit bureaus. "The longer something happens and goes unreported, the harder it is to back track and actually find out where, when, how this occurred," Reardon said. Due to their inexperience with a fast-paced, digital world, the elderly have become an attractive target for identity thieves. According to ID Analytics, between 2 and 3 million elderly parents are possible victims of identity theft initiated by their children over the past few years. In addition, parents are also taking advantage of their children's identities, as the analytics firm reveals more than 500,000 counts of identity theft among those 18-years-old and younger have occurred in the past few years.