Another Day, Another Breach
IS A CREDIT FREEZE AT ONE BUREAU ENOUGH?
Data breaches are more common than ever. There were over 3,300 compromises in the US in 2025 alone, affecting hundreds of millions of people. Businesses and organizations that have been hit are required to notify those individuals who are affected, but they often notify them months or even years after the breach was discovered. A complimentary credit monitoring service is often offered to those who are affected. But before you breathe easy, it’s worth understanding what that offer actually covers. Most people have heard of the big three credit bureaus – TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian – but few understand that they operate quite differently behind the scenes. Those differences matter more than you might think, especially when it comes to protecting yourself or an aging parent from future breaches and fraud.
What Is Credit Monitoring?
At its core, credit monitoring alerts you to changes in your credit report. Think of it as a notification system for your financial identity. But the real value depends entirely on what data is being watched and how much of your credit file you can actually see. A monitoring service that tracks only a fraction of your credit activity, i.e. one bureau, can give you a false sense of security – and that gap is exactly what fraudsters exploit. Each of the three major credit bureaus –Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – independently gathers and maintains information about your credit history. They collect similar types of data, such as account balances, payment history, hard credit inquiries, public records like bankruptcies, and collection activity. Lenders and creditors, however, are not required to report to all three bureaus. Some report to only one or two. That means your credit file at Equifax likely contains accounts or activity that doesn’t appear in your files at TransUnion or Experian, and vice versa. This can create real consequences for anyone relying on a single bureau for credit monitoring.
Why Single-Bureau Monitoring Leaves You Exposed
Many “free” monitoring offers – especially those provided after a data breach –cover only one bureau. And that’s a problem. Consider this: if a fraudster opens a credit card in your name and the issuing bank only reports to Experian, a monitoring service watching only your TransUnion file will never see it. You could go weeks, months, or even years without knowing about the scam. The risk is especially acute for older adults. According to the FTC, seniors reported losing more money to fraud than younger consumers, and the losses for seniors over 60 who lost more than $100,000 increased eightfold between 2020 and 2024. For an adult child helping to monitor a parent’s financial health, a single-bureau service can mean critical warning signs go undetected. Tri-bureau monitoring –monitoring all three major credit bureaus – eliminates the blind spots that come with monitoring just one. It gives you a complete view of your credit activity across Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion simultaneously. With tri-bureau monitoring, you can detect fraud faster, identify more anomalies, and get a more accurate financial picture. Incomplete protection is exactly what fraudsters count on. If your goal is to safeguard yourself or a loved one, monitoring a single bureau provides only partial visibility. Monitoring all three gives you significantly stronger protection. If you want more comprehensive protection, for yourself and for family members, look for a monitoring service that includes all three credit bureaus. Monitoring all three credit bureaus does not suggest you are being overly concerned about your financial health. It demonstrates understanding about how the system actually works – because when it comes to identity theft and fraud, what you don’t see can absolutely hurt you.
Scam Alert
GRANDPARENT SCAMS ARE EVOLVING
Every year, thousands of American seniors receive a phone call that begins with “Grandpa (or Grandma), Please don’t tell Mom (or Dad) but I’m in trouble.” Within minutes, a stranger or an AI-generated voice, sounding like a grandchild in trouble, has emotionally hijacked the conversation. By the time the call ends, a victim may have wired tens of thousands of dollars to a stranger. This is known as the Grandparent Scam, one of the most emotionally traumatic forms of elder fraud. And it’s growing. Understanding how this scam works and what you can do to stop it is the first line of defense for older adults and their families.
The Grandparent Scam is a form of impersonation fraud in which a scammer impersonates a grandchild, another family member, or a friend in urgent trouble – claiming they desperately need money. The “emergency” is usually dramatic, such as a car accident, an arrest, or being stranded in a foreign country. The scam caller relies on a combination of social engineering, emotional manipulation, and urgency to extract money before the victim has time to think through what is actually going on. In many cases, a second fraudster will then come to the phone or call the victim, posing as a police officer, lawyer, or bail bondsman to lend the story purported credibility.
While anyone can be targeted in this scam, seniors are often disproportionately targeted. A critical hallmark of the grandchild scam is the insistence on secrecy. The scammer will implore the victim not to tell anyone. This isolation tactic is deliberate. It keeps people who could intervene out of the equation. And many grandparents’ greatest wish is to have a secret with their grandchild. You might wonder, “How does the scammer even know a grandchild’s name?” The answer, increasingly, is social media. Scammers mine Facebook, Instagram, and videos on those platforms and pick up all kinds of information about family relationships, names, travel plans, and life events. A grandparent who proudly shares photos of a grandchild’s college trip abroad may inadvertently give criminals the exact backstory they need to craft a convincing fake emergency. Voice cloning technology is also emerging as a serious threat. AI voice generators can replicate a person’s voice from just a few seconds of audio – audio that might be gathered from a social media video or voicemail. This means that the generated “voice” of a grandchild on the phone is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
There are steps you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones. First, hang up the phone and call your grandchild and/or other family member directly. Do not call the number given to you by the scammer. You can take steps to verify that they are okay. Another good tip is to create a secret family password or code phrase when you are educating them about this scam. If anyone calls claiming to be a family member or friend in trouble, they must provide the password or code phrase to be believed. Finally, educating loved ones is one of the most powerful protective tools available. Make sure your older relatives know this scam exists and what to do if they receive a suspicious call. The more familiar they are with the tactics, the less likely they are to be victimized.
If you or a loved one has sent money to a Grandparent Scammer, act quickly:
- Contact your bank immediately if a wire transfer was involved, the bank may be able to stop or reverse it if you act fast.
- Call local law enforcement to file a police report.
- If gift cards were used in the scam, call the card issuer – some companies have fraud departments that may be able to freeze unused balances.
Ongoing financial monitoring is one of the most effective ways to guard against the large losses incurred in the Grandparent Scam and ensure that loved ones aren’t victimized a second time. With continuous monitoring of financial accounts, unusual transactions (e.g. unexpected wire transfers, large cash withdrawals, gift card purchases), can be identified and shut down early, preventing losses from escalating
Government / Legislative Update
MEDICARE ISSUES NEW CARDS TO SOME BENEFICIARIES
Medicare updated the Medicaid card in 2018 so that it no longer contains an individual’s Social Security number. Instead it has a random identifier that includes numbers and letters. That was the last time the card was officially updated. During the last two months, however, 1.3 to 2.8 million Medicare beneficiaries received new cards with new identification numbers due to a major fraudulent incident where fraudsters used stolen personal information to set up phony Medicare.gov accounts. This, along with a system hack last year, enabled bad actors to access data that included Social Security numbers, dates of birth and, in some cases, medical histories. These hackers used the stolen data to create fraudulent accounts. Notifications to affected individuals have been mailed, informing them of the incident, outlining steps being taken to protect their information, and providing guidance on actions they may wish to take. Medicare sent the new cards with a letter explaining why a new number has been issued. If you aren’t sure if mail from Medicare is legitimate, call 1-800-Medicare to confirm. You can report suspicious Medicare activity by clicking here.
RIP Ruth Slenczynska
WORLD’S OLDEST PERFORMING PIANIST
Ruth Slenczynska (1925–2026), the oldest living, actively performing pianist passed away earlier this month on April 22nd. She was 101. The last surviving pupil of Sergei Rachmaninoff, she continued recording well into her late 90s, with a career spanning over nine decades. Ruth made her concert debut at age four and was considered one of the most talented child prodigies since Mozart. She performed for four US presidents and released a final album, My Life in Music, in 2022 at age 97. To learn more about her fascinating life and hear her perform in her late 90s, click here.
