Which Groups Are Most Vulnerable to Identity Theft?
Your identity is what makes you, well, you. It’s such an integral part of you, it seems so strange that it’s a thing that could be stolen. Unfortunately, when criminals obtain personal information about you, they gain the ability to take on your identity for their own benefit, and usually to your detriment. So who is most vulnerable to identity theft?The Elderly
When you hear about those who fall victim to various scams, what do they often have in common? Many of them are elderly. To make matters worse, seniors who become victims of identity theft tend to be less likely to acknowledge it, making a bad situation even worse. Those who are in nursing homes or similar facilities are especially vulnerable to tax and medical identity theft, given that a lot of highly sensitive personal information is at the fingertips of a significant portion of the staff.College Students
Given the level of tech-savviness that your average college student today possesses, you might think that they would be less vulnerable to identity theft, not more. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Despite a pretty thorough knowledge of the inner workings of social media, they can be woefully inept when it comes to keeping their personal information private. Between an overabundance of sharing on social media and applying for first credit cards, college students can be an easy target, especially for people who know them.Children
When was the last time you thought about protecting your child’s identity? If you haven’t really given it much thought, you aren’t alone. Children tend to not have credit cards, nor are most of them prone to sharing information online (though parents can easily be guilty of oversharing on their child’s behalf). It’s easy to think that your child’s identity is safe. But is it? Because that is the common train of thought, it means that children’s identities aren’t likely to be monitored. That alone means that they are actually quite vulnerable to identity theft. Ultimately, no one is invulnerable to identity theft. Groups like the elderly, college students, and children can be especially vulnerable though. Identity theft can have life-altering consequences. If you or someone you love falls into one of those categories, make sure they know how to protect themselves against identity theft. Protecting yourself and those around you from identity theft starts with knowledge. Check out this article next: Types of Identity Theft and How to Avoid Them.
Bradley Corbett
Bradley Corbett is a criminal defense attorney in San Diego. He graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo Utah in 2004. Later he enrolled at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego where he participated in a prestigious internship program with the Los Angeles County Public Defender. Since then he has handled over 2,000 cases.