Action 9: How to prevent senior credit card fraud

NEWTON, N.C. — A 91-year-old woman is out thousands of dollars after her account information somehow got compromised.

Her family says she’s a victim of credit card fraud.

Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke says she’s part of a growing trend of seniors losing big money to scammers.

Elaine Concannon’s 91-year-old mother got a credit card bill that didn’t seem right.

She noticed more than $3,000 worth of charges neither she nor they recognized.

“It’s terrible, I mean it’s terrible for anybody that has an elderly parent,” said Concannon.

Elaine doesn’t know how her mom’s credit card was compromised but she believes it may have happened during a trip to Florida with her grandchildren.

“She didn’t do anything wrong. She was having fun at Disney and then someone started having fun with her credit card,” said Concannon.

“As a retiree, or a soon-to-be retiree, you’re one of the markets they go after,” said Rob Fitzgerald, cybersecurity consultant.

Rob Fitzgerald is a cybersecurity consultant and says scammer zero-in on older consumers.

“They want you for your 401k, your real estate trust or your social security check. They can grab your credentials and your credit cards and before you’re even aware they can have maxed those out,” said Fitzgerald.

Concannon says she’s spent more than a year battling the credit card company to dispute the charges so far, unsuccessfully.

She urges families to pay extra attention to the accounts of their older loved ones.

“If you have elderly parents just start watching their credit card bills as they come in,” said Concannon.

Action 9 Takeaways:

• Have a conversation with older parents or grandparents.
• Talk about threats to their bank accounts and credit cards.
• The Better Business Bureau has an entire section for helping seniors navigate financial scams.

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