01/06/2026
Many families with older adults are quietly wondering about identity protection services and online security. That curiosity is often shaped by personal experience, either having dealt with identity theft themselves or knowing someone who came close to being scammed.
One challenge with identity protection services is that they focus heavily on monitoring and notifications, but they cannot do some of the most important steps that actually prevent harm, like freezing credit, securing email, or slowing down high-pressure scams. Those limits are structural, not a failure of the user.
We put together a practical guide that focuses on the actions that reduce risk most, especially for older adults, but useful for any age:
• Credit freezes to prevent new-account fraud
• Email security as the foundation for account recovery
• How to interpret breach findings and decide what actually needs action
• When data broker opt-outs are worth doing, and when they are not
• The value of one trusted person to help with decisions
If you work with seniors and families, feel free to share it as a helpful starting point for these conversations.
None of the steps require a paid service or ongoing subscription.
https://silveragecare.com/guides/simple-online-security-for-seniors
