Seniors Lose $3 Billion to Identity Theft Each Year. Do This Immediately to Protect Yourself
Photo Illustration by Lixia Guo; Getty Images
Identity theft impacts millions of people every year, and older Americans are targeted at higher rates than the rest of the population.
People age 65 and older lose a whopping $36.5 billion to elder financial abuse every year, and almost $3 billion of that money is stolen via identity fraud, according to a study conducted by financial services firm TrueLink. The average amount of money an older adult loses to identity theft over a five year period is $7,633.
"It's a big problem," says Elizabeth Loewy, co-founder of EverSafe, a fintech company that monitors and alerts for fraud. "It's under-reported. It’s a common problem, along with other kinds of exploitation."
