Our senior years should be filled with enjoyment, but identity thieves can destroy that in the blink of an eye.

Honolulu Police Detective Miles Jung says, "Yeah, it's a big problem and it's growing all the time. One of the main things that I would have seniors look at or do would be number one monitor their credit reports. I know a lot of them just don't even bother with them. They figure, what's the use."

Here's the use: those credit reports can track whether someone's stolen your identity without you even knowing it. And there are other ways to keep a running account of your credit standing.

"Another thing I would have them do is look over their bank statements every month. Make sure all their checking accounts, credit card accounts, everything balances. Make sure that they shred all documents that they don't need any more," says Jung.

I asked Detective Jung if seniors have a habit of writing down important numbers that might be stolen - like an ATM pin number.

He replied, "You know I have trouble remembering my own pin number sometimes. Yeah, seniors do have a tendency to do that but then we also find other people doing that, too. They put it into their cell phone memory, notepad or something.">

And that's okay - just don't lose track of it. Seniors might consider confiding in someone close when it comes to confidential ID information...but again, be cautious.

"There are a lot of times when it's the family members that are stealing from each other - especially if they get involved in drugs or gambling. They need to feed their habits. But get somebody you can trust whether it's a family member or a very close friend to help them overlook all these things."

As far as getting copies of your credit report, Jung says, "The easiest way is - the Federal Trade Commission has set up a website it's called annual credit report.com. If you go there, it's free, one hundred percent free."
Free Credit Report