You probably wouldn’t hand a stranger your Social Security card, bank account number, or house keys. But what about your Medicare number, the verification code sent to your phone, or the answers to questions used to access your financial accounts? Those details can be just as valuable to criminals. Scammers increasingly use phone calls, text messages, fraudulent websites, and impersonation tactics to convince older Americans to share information that can unlock accounts or facilitate identity theft.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, adults age 60 and older reported $2.4 billion in fraud losses in 2024, with particularly serious losses associated with impersonation scams. While anyone can become a victim, protecting your information becomes especially important when your retirement savings, healthcare coverage, and monthly income depend on accounts you’ve spent decades building. Here are five pieces of personal information to protect after 60, along with practical steps to keep them out of the wrong hands.
