How to Protect Ourselves Against Identity Theft?

Overview

A report from Aite Group revealed how identity theft is rapidly growing in severity. Their report, U.S. Identity Theft: The Stark Reality, showed that 47 percent of Americans fell victims to financial identity theft in 2020. The theft cases resulted in $712.4 billion in losses, a 42% increase from 2019’s $502.5 billion.(1)

Identity theft happens when our personal information is illegally obtained through hacking, phishing, data breaches, or other means. Hackers use our personal identifying information like name, credit card number, to make illegal transactions.

Aside from the financial consequences, being a victim of identity theft can take an emotional toll. It may bring stress and anxiety that may disrupt our life. Here, we listed some of the common questions about identity theft.

How Do We Put Ourselves At Risk for Identity Theft?

Most of us have lax security practices that put us at risk for identity theft.

The first way to protect ourselves is by identifying these practices: (2)(3)

• Not regularly checking our bank and credit card statements. Credit card fraud is one of the most common forms of identitytheft.
• Using a weak password and using it across multiple accounts.
• Discarding sensitive emails directly to the trash bin without shredding them.
• Using unsecured public wifi when connecting to banking apps.
• Sending confidential information through email or unsecured messaging apps.
• Downloading from unauthorized websites.
• Rarely update our apps and device software.

How Does Identity Theft Happen?

Each year, identity thieves get more sophisticated and creative in their methods. There are many possible ways that our identities can be  stolen. The following are the common sources of identity theft: (4)

• Thieves can rummage through our trash bins and mail, searching for documents containing our personal information.
• Some thieves can even re-route our mail directly to them without our permission by simply requesting a change of address in the post office.
• Phishing and pharming schemes are used when thieves deceive us into divulging sensitive information. While phishing uses fake bait links, pharming tampers a website host file. These spoofed websites were created to capture our confidential information.
• Shoulder surfers are thieves who attempt to get close to us whenever we are at an ATM or any device that stores PIN. They try to blatantly look, but more sophisticated thieves may install small cameras near machines.
• Skimming happens when a device illegally records our credit card information to another electronic storage device. It can occur when a recording device is set up on an ATM or even when our card is discreetly swiped on a personal digital card reader.
• A data breach is when our information is stolen from a system without our knowledge.

How Do We Protect Ourselves Against Identity Theft?

Here are a few ways we can take to protect our identity online:(5)

• When playing online games or streaming online, it’s best to use a VPN connection. It hides our I.P. address so our activities cannot be tracked. An unprotected device in your network leaves a potentially weak link open for hackers to access.
• Strengthen your authorization measures. It’s advisable to have long passwords and change them regularly. Make use of 2-factor authentication keys. (3).
• Make online purchases and downloads from official websites.
• Go paperless. Shred documents that may contain sensitive information. Don’t leave a paper trail by making sure we destroy receipts from ATM, gas, or any purchases.
• Secure our mail by keeping it with a lock or getting a P.O. box. If we are gone for some time, we can inform the post office to hold on to our mail until we get back.
• Regularly check our credit report for any suspicious activity.
• Avoid skimming by making sure we don’t let our credit cards out of sight.

What Can We Do If Someone Steals Our Identity?

Once we realize that our identities have been stolen, we must act immediately. Here are some of the steps we can take: (6)

Step 1: Call the company where the fraud occurred and request to freeze the account. Change the logins, usernames, and passwords immediately.

Step 2: U.S. residents can visit IdentityTheft.gov or call 1-877-438-4338 for a recovery plan.

Step 3: Inform one of the credit bureaus about the situation. Ask for an initial fraud alert.

The threats of identitytheft are real, and anyone can fall victim anytime. The best way to help prevent it is to stay informed and alert when our identity is put at risk.

References:

1. US Identity Theft: The Stark Reality – GIACT.
2. 6 common habits that put you at risk for identity theft.
3. Identity Theft: What is is and How to Prevent it.
4. Most Common Schemes – Identity Crimes – Center for Identity Management and Information Protection (CIMIP) – Utica College.
5. 5 Ways to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft.
6. Recovering from Identity Theft | Consumer.gov.

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