Retiring from your day job doesn’t mean you have to stop monitoring your finances. While that job includes controlling withdrawals and expenses, it also means keeping you (and your money) safe from identity theft.
Bad actors tend to target older people for this type of work. In 2025, cybercrime complaints by people age 60 and older included reports of an average loss of $38,500, according to the most recent cybercrime report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retirees may have accumulated nest eggs and are now dealing with new online accounts for Social Security and Medicare. That makes them ripe for dealing with bad actors who make up related government agencies, banks and so on. This 15-minute check can keep criminals away from your finances and save you thousands.
15 minute test
You don’t have to be a tech wizard or know how to use the latest artificial intelligence tools to keep your sensitive information safe. Following these four simple steps can help:
- Check your credit for odd jobs: You can request a free copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Contact one of these three agencies and reach out to the FTC at IdentityTheft.gov if you find any suspicious activity.
- Update your Social Security account: Visit ssa.gov/myaccount to log into your Social Security account. You check that there are no unexpected changes to your benefits or direct deposits.
- Check Medicare or insurance statements: Look for claims, services or equipment that you never received. Report any fraud on the Office of Inspector General hotline website or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE or 1-800-HHS-TIPS.
- Confirm login: Always review passwords and make sure you don’t use the same password for all your accounts. Changing your password every few months reduces your risk if one of your passwords is leaked.
What to do if you see suspicious activity
It is best to deal with any suspicious activity immediately. What you should do will depend on the type of account affected, but here is a general guideline.
An easy first step is to freeze a bank account, credit card, insurance policy or other financial account with suspicious activity, if possible. Fraud alerts and credit freezes provide an extra layer of protection if you believe someone has fraudulently opened new accounts.
After setting up your account, the next step is to report identity theft through the government’s recovery hub, IdentityTheft.gov. This resource provides sample letters, recovery steps and other important information to help complete the report. You can report Social Security scams to the Social Security Administration or the OIG, and Medicare-related scams must be reported to Medicare.
You don’t have to navigate identity theft issues alone. Contacting the necessary authorities and institutions can minimize damage and act as a barrier between criminals and your sensitive information. Preventing identity theft is part of protecting your nest egg. It’s a basic retirement savings akin to portfolio rebalancing or credit review. While you may not be able to eliminate all risks, you can eliminate many of the risks that hackers exploit.
