Identity Theft Stories: The Most Vulnerable Victims

By Dawn Handschuh, Personal Finance Writer   

Hearing stories of identity theft is always infuriating, but it's especially ugly when it targets those who can least defend themselves:

• Children
• Seniors
• The mentally handicapped
• Those incapacitated by illness

Those in a position to gain or abuse the victim's trust often include caregivers or family members. It takes an especially heartless person to commit these crimes.

Children
Parents often turn their own children into identity theft victims.

• A farmer deep in debt made a habit of opening new credit cards in his wife's and children's names, including an autistic daughter.

Seniors
Identity theft stories often involve seniors, who frequently have greater assets and a more trusting nature.

• A North Carolina woman used the phone to coerce nursing home residents into giving her personal information that she used to open credit card accounts and get cash advances totaling $100,000.

The mentally handicapped

• The son and daughter-in-law of a schizophrenic man moved into his home after having trouble apartment-hunting due to bad credit. The son used his father's Social Security number to open and max out a credit card. Bills for purchases made on television shopping channels and department stores began arriving in the mail, all bearing the father's name.

The ill

• A woman working as an in-home caregiver stole $69,000 from a terminally ill Virginia woman by forging her signature on checks and making charges on her credit cards.

Hospital patients often become identity theft victims because they're unlikely to realize anything's wrong when they're focused on recovery or fighting for their lives.

• A California man became an identity theft victim after emergency surgery; hospital staff copied his Social Security number from the front of his medical file.
• A Philadelphia nurse collected the names of terminally ill patients, working with bank insiders who stole money and $10 million in mortgages from patients.
• A leukemia patient's identity was stolen by a lab technician. The patient later sued three credit-reporting agencies and three banks, alleging that none tried to verify the thief's applications. While litigation is pending, the lawsuit led to major policy changes at one bureau, providing greater protection for victims making identity theft reports.