A credit-card company warned Nova Scotian seniors to be vigilant against scammers at a public meeting Thursday.

Michael D'Sa, Visa's head of data security, said nearly one-fifth of all Canadians over the age of 50 have been the victim of fraud or identity theft.

He warned that more seniors are at risk and offered tips for preventing being victimized to older Nova Scotians at the Halifax meeting.

"Half of the respondents admitted to practicing unsafe behaviours, like writing PIN numbers down, sharing PIN numbers, sharing their card, or even just divulging personal information to others that they shouldn't have done," he said.

D'Sa encouraged people to be more careful about the information they give out and leave behind. One of his main recommendations was for seniors to invest in a shredder so that none of their personal information ends up in the wrong hands.

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Barb Perkins was at the meeting. She said she's been scammed out of her credit-card information when a man called to say she had won a trip to Florida for herself and four others.

But to claim it, he said she had to give him her part of her credit-card number.

"I said I don't usually give it out. 'Well,' he said, 'there's a time limit, you won't want to miss out on it.' I said it sounded too good to be true," Perkins said.

Perkins gave the caller some information from her card but became suspicious and terminated the conversation.

She reported the incident to the RCMP and Visa. Then she changed her credit card number.

Another senior at the meeting had his card stolen. Don MacRae said he forgot his card at a gas station. An employee picked it up and gave it to a friend, who went on an illegal shopping spree.

The thief was caught when a Mic Mac Mall employee became suspicious and called the police.

"Visa called me, actually. I didn't call them, I didn't know it had been gone," said MacRae.

"I just left it and forgot it and went on to do something else and the next day they called me and asked me if I had made these purchases. Of course I said no."

By then, the fraudster had racked up $1,800 in charges. The credit-card company paid for the bill.