The family is often targeted by many companies when it comes to products and credit cards. When a member of the family uses a certain product, he or she would most likely persuade another family member to use that product. When one of the members gets a credit card and is satisfied with the person, that person would most likely refer their relatives to avail of the same offer.
Family credit should be protected because everyone is at an advantage if it remains safe. It should be untouched by any credit card scam. Keeping the family credit secure should be top priority. There is always the possibility of losing a credit card. The effects of a lost credit card can be devastating to the family’s finances if it’s not reported as soon as it’s lost. Credit fraud and identity theft can affect any member of the family most especially the children and the elderly. They should have special protection from credit fraud.
How to Protect Your Elderly Family Members From Credit Fraud
It’s frustrating and saddening that elderly people in your family are easy victims of credit card fraud. They are usually targeted because no one usually pays attention to them. Most of the elderly crave for attention and this is where opportunistic thieves come in. They try to win the trust of the elderly members of your family and take everything they have left. The victims won’t even report what happened because they fear that their family will commit them into mental health institutions. Here are some of the ways you could protect your elderly family members from credit card fraud:
- Make them aware of scams through emails
Many elderly people nowadays are getting into online activities. Warn them about the scams that reach them through email. These emails persuade them to give their sensitive information so that they could avail of "free" products like health supplements and vitamins. - Screen and supervise the caregivers
Caregivers are the constant companions of your elderly loved ones. They could easily access private documents if they want to. Be sure to hire trustworthy professionals or be able to screen them thoroughly before you hire them to care for your elderly family members. It would be best to always keep an eye on the mail, documents and accounts of your loved one so that you can make sure that nothing fraudulent is going on. - Monitor family members as well
It may be difficult to accept but there are family member who commit credit card fraud using an elderly relative’s name. Gambling and drug addiction are usually the catalysts for this kind of behavior. If you’re the only one with a considerate heart, take the initiative to monitor your relative’s accounts and documents just so they’ll be safe.
How to Protect Your Children From Credit Card Fraud
When it comes to your younger family members, it’s always ideal to monitor their daily activities. This includes the sites that they browse and the friends they hang out with. Social networking sites are easy means of luring kids into giving up their sensitive information. Remind your kids never to do such a thing. Also tell them to set a limit on the type of information that they share online, in phone calls or even through text messages.
It would help protect your family from any credit card scam if you tell them to check the monthly credit card statements that arrive. It would also help if you tell them to report their lost credit card immediately so that the authorities can take action as soon as possible.
Amy is an active blogger who is fond of sharing interesting finance related articles to encourage people to manage and protect their finances. Follow her and know more on how to keep your family’s credit secure with family credit monitoring and how can credit check monitoring help in preventing id theft and keeping credit secure.
