One might think today's sandwich generation has enough to worry about, with caring for their kids and aging parents simultaneously, all while juggling a job and a personal life. Now, with the proliferation of scams in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, how do caregivers – the majority of whom are women – stay on top of that and everything else? Among the clients you work with, chances are many of their employees who are caring for others are facing these challenges more than ever.

That's because the pandemic has created a perfect storm that severely threatens the security of our personally identifiable information, or PII. Consumers are spending more time on websites, social media and especially video chats. Meanwhile, an increasing number of malicious cybercriminals are pulling out all the stops to take advantage of peoples' emotions and uncertainty to defraud consumers. They're unleashing everything in their arsenal, from phishing emails and fake texts, to robocalls and zoombombing.

The people most targeted? Your kids and your parents.

Ironically, keeping kids and older adults safe at home has created an even greater window of opportunity for identity thieves and scammers. First, children are virtually living online right now, taking classes, gaming and hanging out with friends on social media (TikTok, anyone?). And seniors, with a heightened anxiety over the disease's impact, have even more free time to take calls, check emails or leaf through their daily mail.

Second, according to Consumer Affairs, these two demographics are targeted aggressively. Children are often singled out because by stealing a child's Social Security number, identity thieves can establish a fraudulent "clean slate." And some studies suggest that people become more trusting as they age, which may explain why seniors are more prone to being taken in by phone, email and internet phishing scams. This is cause for concern right now, as financial information and medical information is especially sensitive.

Identity theft made easy

Identity theft takes on many forms, from tax fraud and financial theft to fake websites and imposter scams. It can start with an internet scam or someone stealing info from your mailbox. It could be your driver's license, a username and password, or medical records, all of which are considered forms of identity theft.