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Identity theft is one of the fastest growing
digital crimes in the world, with a 2017 survey
showing that 6.64 percent of consumers had
become victims of identity fraud at least
once in their life- or about 1 in 15 people.
With hackers being able to impersonate you
digitally, having your identity stolen can
mean everything from a ruined credit score,
to a possible warrant for your arrest!
So how does one protect themselves in this
ever more digital world, what can you be on
the look out as you use the internet or go
about your daily life?
Hello and welcome to another episode of The
Infographics Show- today we're taking a look
at how hackers can steal your identity.
Between 2017 and 2016, identity theft increased
by 1 million from 15.7 million victims to
16.7 victims here in the US alone.
Statistics say that identity theft occurs
every 2 seconds, and a third of the time it's
not even an individual's fault- in 2017 there
were 1,579 data breaches which exposed 179
million personal records from companies.
Identity theft is an insidious crime to combat
because the repercussions often don't happen
immediately, it can take months for the effects
to be noticed, and some people don't find
out for years.
With ID theft so prevalent, just what should
you be on the lookout for then?
Public Wi-Fi Use
Cyber thieves will often target computers
using free and open public wi-fi.
They will look for low-power electronic signals
from your computer or smartphone which can
expose your personal information and password,
although it requires a thief to be physically
near a device if the device isn't actively
connected to the wi-fi.
Experts warn that you should be aware of suspicious
people around you in public settings such
as a coffee shop or library with free wi-fi,
as thieves will often use briefcases with
hidden antennas and microphones hidden beneath
tables to pick up acoustic emissions.
Work Chat
If like millions of Americans you work a digital
job, or work from home and use an online chat
service to coordinate with your employer,
be wary of what details you share online in
unsecured chat channels.
Chat apps such as Slack have been targeted
recently and experienced security breaches
which exposed some of their user's personal
information to would-be thieves.
Experts suggest that you ensure any group
chat app that you use for work is one that
is “end-to-end” encrypted, with messages
readable only on the sender's and recipient's
devices.
If your company's chat service isn't secure,
it's best to make sure you consider changing
chat platforms- or at the very least ensure
that you never share sensitive information
over email or chat.
Customer Loyalty Accounts
With brick and mortar retailers and online
shopping platforms both offering customer
loyalty accounts, thieves have long been drawn
to these reward programs to gleam personal
information.
Retailers have reported an increase in attempts
to gain unauthorized access to reward accounts
which hold customer's sensitive personal information.
Experts recommend that you share as little
information as possible when opening a rewards
or customer loyalty account instead of providing
every piece of information requested, and
as always a strong password is key.
Make sure you update your passwords regularly,
don't use the same password multiple places,
and use a complex, hard to guess password.
Frequent Flyers
A version of customer loyalty program for
jetsetters, hackers have targeted frequent
flyer miles programs to both gather personal
information, and even to book themselves free
flights and upgrades!
Again, the responsibility for securing these
accounts falls primarily on the companies
themselves, but experts recommend that you
monitor any frequent flyer account regularly
and use complex passwords you change frequently
to protect access.
Identity theft is frustrating enough to deal
with already- you don't want to be paying
for your thief's free vacation to the Bahamas
on top of it!
Death and Taxes
Every year Americans have to do their taxes
and file returns, and for identity thieves
tax season is their own perverted form of
Christmas.
Thieves will often send out fake emails from
accounts that look almost like a real professional
tax service, tricking people into providing
personal information that they would normally
share with their real tax service- but if
that doesn't work then they'll simply call
you directly and pretend to be a reputable
tax company such as H and R. Even more brazenly,
thieves will sometimes impersonate the IRS
itself and threaten you, claiming there is
an issue with your taxes and you need to verify
key details before there's legal troubles.
Experts warn that you be on the lookout for
phishing emails during tax season, and verify
the identity of any callers claiming to work
for a company or the IRS- a legitimate problem
can always be resolved by simply hanging up
with the caller and calling the company they
claim to be from or the IRS directly.
Stolen Wallets
This one is a no-brainer, but identity thieves
will sometimes physically mug people, a crime
that has been in steep decline ever since
less and less people started using debit and
credit cards and stopped using actual cash.
But it's not a wad of dollars they're after-
it's your personal details listed on your
driver's license or any important documents
you carry every day.
Experts recommend that you limit what you
physically carry on you, and never make it
a habit to carry your social security card
or passport around with you.
Snail Mail
This one probably seems obvious too, but identity
thieves will often target personal mail to
gleam details about your life.
This can include everything from actual sensitive
information, or just enough details about
you that will help them scam you in other
ways.
A thief can find out you're deep in credit
card debt for example by stealing your billing
statements, and then call you pretending to
be the company processing your debt and know
details like your home address, monthly payments,
and exactly how much debt you hold- all information
that can make it seem like you're speaking
to a legitimate representative!
Experts suggest that you ensure your mailbox
is secure- a lockbox if possible- but as always
if anybody calls you claiming to be a representative
of a financial company, you can simply hang
up and call that company back to verify.
Friend Fraud
Most people will fiercely protect their log-in
details for any sensitive websites such as
their bank or credit card companies, but barely
give any thought to the passwords they use
for their social media- after all, what's
someone going to do with your facebook account
other than maybe post some embarrassing public
posts you can explain later?
Well, hackers may not be able to steal your
personal information directly by logging into
your facebook, but they can, and do, fool
your friends instead.
Hackers may contact your friends and family,
saying something like you're on vacation abroad
and lost your wallet- can you please send
some money right away?
This scam is called “social engineering”
and relies on your loved ones caring enough
about you to try and bail you out of a difficult
situation, only for the money to go into the
pockets of your identity thieves.
Experts suggest that you hone your BS radar
if you receive a message like this and verify
directly with the person over a non-social
media channel that they're really in trouble
or not- a simple phone call will let you know
the truth most of the time.
However, we personally recommend you simply
have no friends, and if you insist on arguing
about politics with your family every Thanksgiving
and Christmas, nobody in your family will
want to help you out of a tough situation!
What other ways can you think of to help protect
your identity?
What other ways do you know that people can
steal it?
Have you ever had your identity stolen?
Also, be sure to check out our other show
Most Dangerous Hackers of All Time.
Thanks for watching, and as always, don’t
forget to like, share and subscribe.
See you next time
