Older people and their families often worry about crime. The elderly are actually less ly to be victims of crime than teenagers and young adults, but the number of crimes against older people is hard to ignore. Every year, about two million older people become crime victims.

As a caregiver of a senior, it is important for you to realize that seniors are more vulnerable to the crimes of burglars, purse snatchers, petty thieves, and con artists. Seniors fear crime, especially violent crime. Older people are more ly than younger victims to face attackers who are strangers, and are more often attacked at or near their homes. Chances are that an older victim may be more seriously hurt than a younger person.

With warm weather around the corner, it is tempting to leave doors unlocked and windows open. This makes it easier for perpetrators to commit crimes.

Here are some tips to keep yourself and those you care for safe and to reduce vulnerability:

1) Look through a peephole to verify who is outside before opening any door. It is also a good idea to install deadbolt locks.

2) Vary daily routines and leave lights on timers when going out at night.

3) Notify neighbors and police when going out of town. Cancel deliveries of the newspaper etc., and arrange for your mail to be held at the post office or picked up by a neighbor.

4) Be wary of unsolicited offers to do repairs to your home, and only deal with reputable companies.

5) Don’t leave notes on your door or hide a key under the mat when you are gone. 

6) Never give out information over the phone. Do not indicate that you are alone or that you won’t be home at a certain time.

7 )If you were to be attacked on the street, scream and make as much noise as possible. Do not pursue your attacker and call 911.

8 )If you arrive at home and suspect a stranger may be inside, do not enter. Leave immediately and call 911 and report the crime.

9) When walking, always plan your route and be aware of your surroundings. Walk confidently and never walk alone. Stay away from buildings and doorways and walk in well lit areas.

10) Have your key ready when approaching your front door or car. Keep purses close to your body at all times. (12% of all crimes against the elderly are purse snatching and street robberies)

11) Don’t carry large, bulky shoulder bags, carry only what you need. 

12) Keep your gas tank full and your car well maintained to avoid breakdowns. If your car should break down, pull over to the right as far as possible and raise the hood. Wait inside the car for help, do not get out. Exiting a vehicle makes you a target before police arrive.

13) At stop signs and traffic lights, keep your car in gear and your doors locked. Travel on well lit and busy streets. Do not leave your purse on the seat beside you, put it on the floor or lock it in the trunk with other packages and bags.

14) When returning to your car, ...

Grandad! It’s Tasha. I’ve been arrested in Canada. I need $1000 or they will keep me in this horrible jail, thrown me in with drug addicts and prostitutes. Help me!

Back in the day, protecting our identity was less of a financial, more of an existential concern: keeping a flower in our hair, giving peace a chance, and never becoming what we, alas, became. Too late for that but we can still protect our numbers.

Identity thieves steal our numbers (social security, credit card, bank accounts) and using them, set up new accounts in our name, run up huge bills, and neglect to pay them (unless they are very new to the game).

How do they get your numbers? Running off with your purse or wallet, going through your mailbox or garbage, invading your computer, and working in offices that have your numbers. 

• Never give any of your numbers to an unsolicited email, letter, or phone call. No bank, financial institution, or governmental agency will ever send you an email requesting that you respond by giving them financial information.
• Don’t keep your social security card in your wallet or purse. If a routine form, say in the doctor’s office, has a space for your social security number, fein a Senior Moment and leave it blank.
• Shopping on line, use a credit card, not a debit card which can be used to get at all of your accounts.
• Shred important documents. Crisscross shredders are best (shredders are not only for politicians.)
• Keep important documents in locked files. Thieves may be relatives, colleagues, visitors.
• Get a locked mailbox.

Check your credit report for accounts you never opened. You are entitled to one free credit report per year. The only website authorized by the government to fill orders for your free credit report is www.annualcreditreport.com . (Despite their catchy jingles and ultra cute ads other websites offering free credit reports ain’t. To get your report you must sign up for other services.

As to scams W.C. Fields pretty much summed it up:
You can fool some of the people some of the time—and that’s enough to make a decent living.

Of course all of us, even MBAs from Stanford, are some of the people some of the time. 

Protecting yourself from scams is best but what if you throw caution to the wind? What if you don’t get the promised $12.5 million (U.S) from that far away country? What if you actually trust another human being?

Scream! Crooks count on you licking your wounds, blaming yourself, and slinking away. Start...