Do I really have to hide all of my mom's financial information from a health care worker?

I have been a victim of identity theft unfortunately by someone I knew. What a nightmare! I protect everything in my home now from everybody as much as I can. I tried to do the same for my mom. I finally convinced her to let me buy a locking file cabinet, put it in my home and protect her papers that way. She agreed. You do not know who you can trust and especially around elders. A SS card in the wrong hands can haunt you for years.

While we can't be sure that MIL didn't just give someone her personal information over the phone and we can't be sure that neighbor or family member didn't get their information OR if possibly someone at FIL's nursing home "acquired" the information....What we do know is that nearly $6,000. was removed from their checking account and paid out to various accounts after they had used an in home caregiving service that used several different people over a few months.

I know everyone's situation is different ... but I believe it is a good idea to lock this information up. There can be high turnover in caregivers that you hire through an agency. Yes, background checks are performed ... but safe is MUCH better than sorry when it comes to identity theft. It's hard enough to realize that your own identity has been used to apply for loans, etc. .... much harder to realize this for another person who isn't entirely capable of managing their own financial life anymore.

In my Dad's case, we have filing cabinets that lock. These are located in a room behind a door that we also installed a key lock on. He has no interest in (or real understanding of) any of this paperwork anymore, so never needs to go in there, and I have secured his copy of the key in his house where it cannot easily be stumbled upon.

This being said, 2much2cover is right ... you can't control what comes in the mail, and this is especially problematic during "tax record" season when lots of sensitive info is arriving ... I'm still trying to work out a good solution to that problem. But in general, I really think it's wise to make the effort to figure out a way to lock up the sensitive stuff. And there are silver linings to doing it, too -- in the process, I discovered insurance policies and other accounts that I didn't know existed and that Dad had forgotten about, which made it easier for me to help his accountant file more accurate tax returns, etc. Also got rid of a ton of stuff that we didn't need to keep holding onto (e.g., records for bank accounts that had been defunct for years, and so on).

I have in home aides and my initial feeling is that if you trust them alone with your mother, then hopefully you should be able to trust them to not search through their paperwork. However this is the real world and identify theft happens. Either secure the paperwork physically or scan into a computer file if you are concerned and take the hard copies to your location, assuming you live somewhere else. I don't leave checkbooks, bank statements lying around and also anything with the complete social security number but if mail comes in there is nothing you can do so back to first assumption: If you trust them with they physical care.....