Protecting Your Senior from Medical Identity Theft

One of the most significant benefits of senior home care services is an increased sense of safety. When you hire a caregiver for an elderly loved one, they can safeguard your loved one’s physical well-being, helping them stay healthy and avoid injury. At the same time, a caregiver can provide peace of mind about your loved one’s tosecurity, helping them steer clear of scammers, fraudsters, and other criminals.

The rise of medical fraud has underscored the need to protect seniors from scammers. Cases of medical identity theft have increased in recent years, with seniors among the most targeted demographics. This year, scammers have been using the new style of Medicare cards as a way to trick seniors into giving up sensitive personal information.

If you’re worried that your loved one could A caregiver’s presence may thwart attempts at medical identity theft by one of these scams, senior home care services can offer peace of mind. Seniors are most vulnerable to scammers when they’re alone. A caregiver from a reputable senior homecare agency will give your loved one someone they can turn to when they get a strange call, receive a suspicious email, or find someone on their doorstep asking odd questions.

How Senior Homecare Services Help

It’s no coincidence that elderly adults who need at-home living assistance the most are also likely targets for scams. These include older adults who live alone, suffer from chronic physical disability, or are experiencing cognitive decline or dementia. All of these factors increase seniors’ risk of health and wellness problems, as well as their vulnerability for criminal targeting.

In-home care services can help seniors manage isolation, physical disability, and cognitive decline. In doing so, home care providers can increase physical and mental wellness, while also shielding seniors from different types of scams and fraud.

Attempts at medical identity theft may be thwarted by a caregiver’s presence. Right now, many of the most common medical identity theft scams involve the new Medicare cards. Some of the tactics used by scammers include:

• Claiming that seniors need to pay an activation fee in order to use the new cards.
• Claiming the card is frozen and asking seniors to unfreeze by “confirming” their social security number or Medicare number.
• They are claiming that seniors are owed a refund related to the new card and asking for private information or financial data.

Typically, these scams are conducted over the phone, though there are instances of email and door-to-door scams as well.

When seniors are targeted by these scams, having someone else present can make a huge difference, scammers will try to exploit older adults who are unfamiliar with new technologies or who are suffering from cognitive decline. If someone else is present, they are often able to recognize what’s happening and intervene.

Unfortunately, many seniors don’t have someone else around when this happens. Many of them live alone and are separated from family by long distance. Others live with or near family members but are alone during the day when family members go to work.

If you have an elderly loved one in this situation, and you’re worried about their safety and security, senior home care services could be the solution. With senior homecare services, your loved one will have a home care aide present on a full-time or part-time basis, reducing their risk of falling victim to medical identity theft. Because of their experience with other seniors, many caregivers are able to quickly identify scams, further reducing the chances of victimization.

It’s important to note, however, that medical identity theft isn’t practiced solely by hardened criminals. Often, seniors are defrauded by those close to them, including predatory family members or untrustworthy caregivers.

In light of this, it’s crucial that you hire senior homecare services from a reputable agency, like Visiting Angels Newton/Canton. Ask questions about the security measures taken by different providers and take the time to find an agency — and a caregiver — that you can trust.

About Visiting Angels Newton/Canton:

Visiting Angels Newton/Canton MA is an award-winning local home care agency providing high caliber in-home care services to the elderly and people with disabilities. Countless families have benefited from our Alzheimer's and dementia care, companion care, respite support, transitional aid, and in-home elder care services in Dedham, Needham, Norwood, Westwood, Brookline, Watertown, Canton, Stoughton, Natick, Wellesley, Newton, Chestnut Hill, Roslindale, and nearby towns.

We are honored to have been awarded Top Places to Work by the Boston Globe for five years. We have also earned the Best of Home Care – Leader in Excellence, Trusted Provider, Best of Home Care Provider, and Best of Home Care Employer by Home Care Pulse. We are proudly accredited by the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts.

To discuss your options for professional, in-home care, call Visiting Angels Newton/Canton at 617-795-2727 today!