Last week I received a call from a senior looking to get a reverse mortgage for his Fresno home.
He had received my in formation from another mortgage company in Fresno that did not offer reverse mortgages. I scheduled an appointment to meet with him later in the week.
When I arrived at his home, he led me to the living room. It was well over 100 degrees on that particular day in Fresno and the inside wasn’t much cooler. No air conditioner was running and so I was in a hurry to get out of there as I started to melt in this super hot heat!
He then told me this very sad story which prompted me to write this post as a warning not just to seniors, but to all of us.
Mr. Client’s wife passed away last year after a long battle with cancer. His bank opened up a new checking account for him. Everything was running fine until he went to get his taxes filed. He met with a certified public accountant from Fresno, and she filed his paperwork. The CPA opted for Mr. Client to have a paper check mailed to his post office box. Sounds safe enough, right?
Well, it wasn’t! Six weeks passed and Mr. Client called the Internal Revenue Service, also known as the IRS to let them know he had not received his check. They told him he had to wait a couple more weeks before filing a complaint. He waited and finally called again to file his complaint.
The IRS did their investigation and after several weeks came back and told him that Chase Bank said the check was cashed. Well, Mr. Client, while being a member of Chase Bank, never cashed that check, but here is what happened.
The check was intercepted from someone who worked with the IRS.
They then gave the check to a second person who opened a Chase account under Mr. Client’s name. The thief was then able to cash the check. The check was right around $9,000! Mr. Client desperately needed this money to help with expenses now that his wife was gone.
It has now been three months and they are still conducting their investigations. They told him he would receive a “settlement” letter from the IRS. Mr. Client would need to settle for a portion of the money owed to him.
How sad this is! Its Mr. Clients hard earned money, but he is losing it because some thieves decided to take it from him!
Identity thieves prey on senior citizens every day. Many seniors think that because they do not make purchases on-line, do not own credit cards, and shred all their personal information that they are safe from the hands of these criminals.
No one is safe! However there are things seniors can do protect themselves. First of all, hire a company like LegalShield to monitor your identity. Second, do not carry your Social Security card in your wallet. If your Medicare card has your Social Security number on it, then make a copy of your card and use a permanent marker to black out the number. Third, do not carry your check book with you. Only carry the checks you need and leave the rest in a secure place at home.
Do not allow yourself or any seniors in your life to become the next victim of an identity thief! If you would like to protect your identity and your families, please contact Teri Sherron at 559-554-7785 or for more info click HERE. She is an expert in identity theft solutions.
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