WHAS11 coverage

Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - Most of us have them in our wallet or in our homes: credit cards.

Imagine someone stealing your credit card, and charging more than $30,000 dollars on your card and the thief was actually a relative.

Police say it’s a growing problem; elderly people being targeted for identity theft.

The worst part of it is that the suspect is often someone the victim loves and trusts.

WHAS11 News spoke with an expert and victims about how to try to keep it from you or someone you love.

Inside a south Louisville home, police say a man used his own father’s information to obtain a credit card....a credit card the father didn’t find out about until the son charged more than $33,000 in less than 6 months.

50-year-old David Romans was charged with theft of identity and fraudulent use of a credit card.

One of a growing number of suspects experts say are targeting the ones they love to steal their identities.

“You trust your family to take care of you. You trust your family to have your best interest. And sometimes your family does not have your best interest and they see you as an easy mark and an easy way to get money,” Cathy Allgood Murphy of the AARP.

The Kentucky AARP chapter has held several seminars in recent months warning seniors that their loved ones may take try to take advantage of their good credit.

“They’re the ones who have their houses paid off., the money in the bank. They’ve been Diligent in the way they’ve handled their money,” says Murphy.

Jayne Hibberd knows first hand the damage that kind of crime can cause.

“I’ve had it in my family. And there’s that hesitancy to report it,” she says.

While Hibberd had credit cards stolen by a stranger at the grocery store, that was easy to deal with, compared to a theft by a family member.

“You can’t believe it. You can’t believe it. But it’s something you have to deal with,” she says.

“The only recourse you have is if you’re willing to take them to court and a lot of family members are not,” says Murphy.

While these parents were willing to press charges, they weren’t willing to talk about it to WHAS11 News; it was just too painful.

Now police and AARP officials say the best thing you can do to protect yourself is frequently check your credit to make sure nobody is damaging it before its too late.

You can get free reports annually from each of the three reporting credit agencies.

Equifax

TransUnion

Experian