Understanding and Preventing Identity Theft

Identity theft is a serious problem in most countries worldwide. In the US, identity theft incidents are approximately three times higher, with at least 33% of Americans suffering different types of identity theft attacks. The attack occurs when malicious actors steal and use someone else’s personally identifiable information for illegal, personal, and financial reasons. Cybercriminals often target sensitive data like Social Security numbers and credit card information to commit various crimes. 

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), more than 1.5 million people reported identity theft incidents. A 2022 study also found that in 2021, the identities of 15 million people were stolen, more than 40 million people suffered identity theft attacks, and cyber frauds made away with more than $52 billion through identity theft attacks. 

Why is identity theft a problem?

Most people fear getting robbed on the streets, but this has changed recently due to increased reliance on technology and other online services for critical activities. The frequency of identity theft attacks has skyrocketed as online fraudsters seek to exploit the opportunities brought by digitized financial transactions, social media advancements, and other digitized services. 

Moreover, identity theft is a common 21^st-century issue since more data is moving from physical records to internet-connected devices and servers, which increases the possibility of the data getting compromised and misused to suit attackers’ objectives.

At the same time, while cybercriminals are more active in stealing credit card data, social security numbers, email addresses, personal health information, and social media profiles, consumers are partly to blame due to poor and weak defense mechanisms to protect their identifying data.

Common types of identity theft

After understanding ways attackers commit identity theft crime, it’s vital to learn different types of identity theft. We have compiled a list of three main ones. 

1. Financial-related: The most common type of identity theft is where cybercriminals use victim’s personal data for financial reasons. For instance, they can use your information to access your bank accounts or credit card data to make online purchases. Due to its common nature, financial identity theft increased by 64% in 2021.
2. Medical identity theft occurs when criminals assume their victims’ identities to access various healthcare services. For example, fraudsters may use a person’s identifying information to assume their identity to get prescriptions for expensive medication, access free healthcare services, and make false insurance claims.
3. Synthetic identity theft: It is the fastest-growing type of identity theft used to commit financial crimes. Synthetic identity theft occurs when cybercriminals use a person’s identifying data, including date of birth, social security numbers, and addresses, to create fake identities. Fake identities based on real information assist fraudsters in obtaining loans or applying for credit cards to commit financial crimes. 

How to stay safe from identity theft

1. Create Strong Passwords for Devices and Accounts 

Strong, unique passwords are effective in preventing unauthorized individuals from accessing your personal information and using it to steal your identity. A password manager is a valuable tool for creating and managing unique, complex passwords for all your accounts and devices. 

In addition to strong passwords, enable multi-factor authentication to reinforce password security. Mult-factor authentication requires anyone with a correct password to authenticate themselves as the real owners, thus preventing identity theft.

  2. Beware of Spoofing and Phishing Attacks

Fraudsters use phishing messages and calls to trick unsuspecting victims into thinking they are talking to legitimate entities. For example, scammers may pretend to be from your bank and provide a link that requires you to log in to address security concerns or suspicious activities but instead harvests the data you provide to spoof your identity. Best practices for avoiding falling for phishing and spoofing attacks include calling a legitimate organization to verify the claims and avoiding clicking on links and attachments sent from unknown email addresses. 

  3. Check and Evaluate Your Credit Reports Regularly

Credit reports provide an overview of all activities related to financial accounts created in your name. These include recent financial transactions and last reported balances. 

As such, evaluating your credit reports regularly can help identify suspicious activities that indicate that your identity has been compromised and used to commit financial crimes. In addition, detecting suspicious events and discrepancies in your credit reports early allows you to take swift action to prevent further identity theft incidents. For example, you can report foreign accounts created in your name to the necessary authorities for investigation and prevent the situation from worsening.

  4. Secure Your Personal Information

Without your personal information, cybercriminals cannot steal your identity. That said, you should implement robust measures for securing your personal data. For example, strengthen your mailbox’s physical security to ensure any physical documents containing your personal information cannot be accessed. Also, ensure you completely destroy any paper trail with your personal or financial data when discarding physical documents. 

You should also strengthen the security of your digital data through strong passwords, firewalls, antivirus solutions, and strong authentication to prevent unauthorized access and data leaks.

  5. Reduce Exposure to Identity Theft

It would be best to minimize exposure to identity theft attacks by reducing what you carry. For example, carrying only one credit card in your wallet can reduce the potential impact if it is stolen or lost. Furthermore, avoiding having your social security card everywhere can reduce the chances of your social security number being stolen and used to steal your identity. 

Finally, accessing your online financial services via a secure network can protect you against identity theft.

  6. Secure Your Personal Information

Without your personal information, cybercriminals cannot steal your identity. That said, you should implement robust measures for securing your personal data. For example, strengthen your mailbox’s physical security to ensure any physical documents containing your personal information cannot be accessed. Also, ensure you completely destroy any paper trail with your personal or financial data when discarding physical documents. 

You should also strengthen the security of your digital data through strong passwords, firewalls, antivirus solutions, and strong authentication to prevent unauthorized access and data leaks.

Identity theft prevention tools

You can also use these tools to prevent yourself from identity theft incidents. 

1. Lifelock

LifeLock simplifies how you protect your identity by sending alerts on potential threats to your identity through messages, phone calls, email, and the mobile app. It permits users to lock potentially compromised accounts with one click. LifeLock also monitors and alerts crimes committed using your personal information and helps affected individuals restore their identities. In addition, LifeLock plans provide a $1 million coverage for experts required to resolve any identity theft problems.

  2. IdentityForce 

IdentityForce provides practical identity, credit, and privacy security services for its users. With over forty years of experience, IdentityForce leverages advanced detection technologies and real-time monitoring and alerting to protect users from different types of identity theft. 

IdentityForce detects illegal selling of your personal, financial, and credit information, providing robust monitoring required in today’s connected world. In addition, certified Protection Experts offer comprehensive, U.S.-based, 24/7 recovery services backed by one-million-dollar insurance coverage. 

  3. IdentityGuard 

IdentityGuard has protected consumers from financial fraud and identity theft incidents for more than twenty-five years. The tool monitors your name, Social Security number (SSN), and driver’s license number to prevent identity fraud and alert you once it detects that your personal information has been exposed. It also monitors your credit cards, financial accounts, credit file, and more to detect fraudulent activity.

About Pulsar Security

Pulsar Security is a team of highly trained and qualified ethical hackers whose job is to leverage cybersecurity experience and proprietary tools to help businesses defend against malicious attacks. Pulsar is a Veteran, privately owned business built on vision and trust, whose leadership has extensive military experience enabling it to think strategically and plan beyond the problems at hand. The team leverages offensive experience to offer solutions designed to help analyze and secure businesses of all sizes. Our industry experience and certifications reveal that our engineers have the industry's most esteemed and advanced on the ground experience and cybersecurity credentials.