Hello readers! Identity theft has become one of the most common cybercrimes in the world. The Federal Trade Commission in the USA received more than 1.1 million identity theft reports in 2024, which was an increase of 9.5% from 2023 reports. What was more concerning was that around 47% of American citizens had their personal details exposed due to this identity theft crime.
What if you were checking your bank account, and found some transactions which you never did? You further found a newly opened bank account under your name. This is what identity theft is.
Identity theft may come from anything: a fake email, a reused password, an unsafe app, or other details shared by you.
You might now have a question in your mind: ‘How to prevent identity theft?’
Well, there is no specific, concrete solution to this crime. You need to do some basic things right, like limiting the sharing of your personal details and information online. Stay alert for potential scams, fake sites, or financial activities, etc.
It would also be ideal for you to follow proper guidance and best practices suggested by Fortinet, CrowdStrike, and other trusted platforms.
The Definition of Identity Theft
Identity theft happens when a person steals the personal information of someone else without their consent to perform fraudulent actions. It usually includes unauthorized access to accounts, making purchases, opening accounts, or posing as the victim in general.
The personal information may include passwords, payment credentials, identification numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and many others that contribute to establishing the identity of a person.
Identity theft is different from regular fraud. The former involves the misuse of information, whereas the latter involves the damaging activity performed by the person who possesses the information.
Why Identity Theft Is Hard to Recognize?
It is not always true that identity thieves will use the information right away. They can gather data and use it weeks or even months after the crime happened. In addition, information from different sources will be used.
For instance, the attacker can obtain your name and phone number from one source, your email from another source, and your workplace from social media sites. Alone, each piece of information does not seem threatening, but combined, they might be helpful to create a scam message.
It all comes down to securing your own personal details if you really wish to prevent identity theft of yours.
Types of Identity Theft
Several types of identity theft are described below.
Financial Identity Theft
Certainly, this is the most common way when the attacker utilizes credit or debit card information, withdraws money, applies for credit on your behalf, or even gets your tax refund and totally ruins your credit score.
Medical Identity Theft
When your insurance or medical ID is used to cover costs for someone else's treatment and prescription, making up false information in your personal medical profile.
Criminal Identity Theft
The criminal uses your ID to prove he is you when arrested by the police, thus creating records in your name that may affect you negatively for many years afterward.
Synthetic Identity Theft
This involves the fabrication of a unique ID using bits of different people's identities (birth date, address, phone number of various persons plus completely made-up personal data like name and job history). This identity allows him to create a bank account, get a loan or credit, and act freely for a few months or years until he commits fraud.
How to Prevent Identity Theft?
Do Not Share Personal Details
Sharing less personal data can go a long way toward reducing risks of becoming a victim of identity theft.
Ask an organization why it needs personal information (such as your identification number, birth date, phone number, home address, and others) before sharing any information with it. Consider how it plans to keep your data safe and secure.
According to the California Attorney General, you should inquire about how the company uses and protects your personal data.
If some website does not really need this or that personal information from you, do not provide it just because the web form asks you to do so.
Create Different Passwords for Different Profiles
Password reuse is risky.
Once your password is breached somewhere, it is likely that your other accounts using the same password are compromised too.
Thus, it is recommended to create different passwords for important websites and use reputable password managers for this purpose. This is also recommended by CrowdStrike.
In addition, having a good password is important, but having a unique password for each account is equally important.
Poor Habit | Better Approach |
Saving your passwords in random notes or places | Opt for a reliable password manager |
Reusing the same password everywhere | Use different passwords for different profiles |
Utilize predictable personal details | Utilize random, long passwords |
Sharing passwords with others | Keep your password private |
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
A password should not be the only authentication method needed to access an important account.
Multi-factor authentication adds another factor of authentication, such as the authentication application, security key, or passkey. In cases where they are available, choose phishing-resistant methods like passkeys or hardware security keys.
Even if your password is stolen, additional authentication will make accessing your account more difficult.
If you want, you can also learn about Zero Trust Security and how it utilizes MFA.
Be Aware of Phishing Tactics
A strong password will be of no use if you provide your data directly to the scammer.
The sender of a phishing message will pretend to be a bank, company, governmental agency, or delivery service. They will usually create some sense of urgency and urge you to click on the link or provide sensitive data.
Do not click on any links or dial the phone number provided in such messages. Instead, visit the site or launch the app to verify the request.
A sense of urgency is one of the main warning signs of phishing attacks. Learning about deepfakes and social engineering would be relevant for you.
Protect Your Email Account
An email account needs to be protected more than other accounts because it is linked to other accounts.
If your email account gets hacked, then the person will be able to reset your password and use other accounts as well.
You need to have a strong password and multi-factor authentication for your primary email. Make sure that your recovery process is updated by removing old phone numbers and email addresses from there.
It is just an inbox, but it can act as a master key for many of your accounts. In this regard, you can also check out details about authentication failure and other OWASP security topics.
Update Your Software
The updates for security might be fixes for vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers.
Make sure you update your operating system, web browsers, mobile applications, and security software. Your computer and security systems are vulnerable to attack when out of date.
Just because your device functions well does not mean there is no risk involved. You need to be aware of that possibility.
Be Cautious with App Downloads
Even free software downloaded from untrusted sources can pose serious threats to your system's safety.
Spyware, keyloggers, and malware can be collecting all kinds of personal information without your consent. Try downloading apps from reputable sources. You should also know about different types of malware.
Be careful about those apps that ask permission for unrelated purposes. Don't allow unnecessary permissions for such applications.
Dispose of Sensitive Physical Documents Correctly
Identity theft doesn't happen only in cyberspace.
Your old bank statements, tax forms, bills, or any other paperwork can hold information that could be abused by criminals. Before disposing of such documents, shred them first.
It isn't enough for your cybersecurity measures to be restricted only to your laptop. You also have a physical security perimeter.
Don’t Share Much on Social Media
A lot of personal information can be disclosed on social media.
Criminals can use such details as your birthday, place of work, location, last name, e-mail, and so on to conduct successful phishing attacks or make educated guesses about your online credentials.
According to the California Attorney General, one should avoid disclosing too much personal information on social networks.
It’s not necessary to stop using social media. You just have to think about whether strangers actually require such data that you share with them.
Regularly Review Your Bank and Card Statements
Regularly reviewing your financial transactions can help you detect signs of identity theft.
Check your bank and credit card transaction reports and set real-time alerts where possible. According to CrowdStrike, one should monitor financial statements and set alerts for unusual activity.
You should not disregard even minor unfamiliar transactions. Criminals may sometimes test the viability of an account through small transactions.
What If Your Data Has Already Been Stolen?
No measures are ever completely fail-safe. A company where you hold an account may have been compromised even if you've done everything to protect yourself from a potential breach.
In case of a data leak, change your passwords that have been exposed and any duplicates, set up multi-factor authentication, check your finances, and monitor emails and account logins.
The occurrence of a breach doesn't mean that your identity has already been stolen, but you must be more alert now.
Prevention is Better than Cure
Identity protection is not a one-time operation. Check your accounts, transactions, notifications about any security breaches, account recovery methods, and other devices on a regular basis.
This could only take you a couple of minutes per month.
Think about securing your identity as you think about securing your home. You make it work by making it a habit.
Conclusion
Knowing how to protect yourself from identity theft does not make you an expert in cybersecurity.
You need to modify your online behavior and ensure that you are well informed regarding where your personal information can be found. You need to have strong passwords, use two-factor authentication, identify scams, update your device, protect any paper copies, avoid oversharing, and monitor your finances.
Above everything else, you should never take identity protection lightly until something strange catches your attention.
Your identity is valuable regardless of whether you know it or not. Spending just a little bit of your time protecting it now will save you lots of trouble in the future.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Q1. Can passwords protect you from identity theft?
Good passwords will lower the chances of hackers accessing your accounts if used together with multi-factor authentication.
Q2. Can social media platforms lead to identity theft?
Overexposure of personal information on social networking sites provides criminals with material that can be used in various ways.
Q3. Do you need to monitor your bank accounts?
Yes, you should do it from time to time.
Q4. Can you take preventive measures against identity theft?
Yes, you can, but nothing is guaranteed.