So it's a safe assumption to bet that in many cases, criminals already possess sensitive details about you that are floating around the online sphere — details that they may wait months or even years to actually exploit, inflating your sense of security, says Nichols.
Coupled with the rise of online tools that let threat actors easily identify individuals living in wealthy neighborhoods so that they can drive by and steal more data e. It makes for a powerful one-two punch that allows criminals to quickly stockpile a wealth of information on virtually anyone, including the answers to security questions that can help them quickly circumvent typical fraud-prevention measures. Here are some of the more common, and clever, ruses that identity thieves have begun using more frequently over the last six months.
Opening credit-monitoring accounts with Experian, Equifax and other services in victims' names. This enables the thieves to scan your credit report for forgotten credit cards or accounts and rack up charges on them. After having a false account recently opened in his name with [credit-monitoring company] Lifelock, the firm told a CEO of a major corporation it wasn't possible," she says.
It turns out it was. Using Google Maps, Zillow, Redfin and other location and real estate services to find locate upscale neighborhoods. The thieves physically canvass these neighborhoods looking for mail contains personal information that they can swipe. Hacking into cellphones, computers and tablets using malware, spyware and software.
This allows the thieves to swipe personal information from devices connected to public Wi-Fi networks. One client even had their drivers' license details stolen, and someone attempted to have a new one issued to a different neighborhood in their home state. Nichols says that "attempts at identity theft today are becoming more cunning, convoluted, and complex. If you want to fight back, your best defense is a good offense. If you think it sounds expensive and time-consuming to safeguard yourself from identity thieves, the costs of not doing so can be even more intimidating.
According to Nichols, a single incident of identity theft can take six months and 40 hours of work for a typical individual to recover. Bearing this in mind, it pays to be cautious. Here are some steps Nichols urges you to take to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft. Monitor your credit regularly.
Keep an eye out for illegitimate inquiries or suspicious accounts opened in your name. Likewise, stay attuned to alerts from your bank, credit card provider and other financial institution. Note that small, probing attempts at intrusion are often made before a full-blown attempt at compromising your identity occurs. Freeze your credit. A credit freeze also known as a security freeze restricts access to your credit reports, helping safeguard against fraudsters opening new accounts in your name, but a credit freeze may not stop misuse of your existing accounts or some other types of identity theft.
Also, companies that you do business with would still have access to your credit report for some purposes. A credit freeze has no effect on your credit score or current credit accounts, and the process can be completed in less than 10 minutes.
To freeze your credit, you must contact each of the three credit bureaus Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You'll be asked to provide personal information, such as name, address, Social Security number and birth date. When you call the legitimate company, question them to verify if the request is legitimate. If it is a legitimate company, tell them you have been solicited and verify the legitimacy of the call.
If the legitimate company tells you that the message is not legitimate, report the Vishing attack to the Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3 at www. You can add yourself to the registry at www. The website is legitimately indexed into search engines such as yahoo or Google so that during the normal course of searching for products or services individuals can find these offers. Once the individual access the website the user is given incentives and persuaded in such a way that the individual becomes susceptible to give up his or her personal identifying information to take advantage of the offer being given.
An example of this would be when you are purchasing a normally high priced item over the internet, such as a video game system, and you find a website that has a much lower price. You may be tempted to purchase this item at a lower price but you do not realize that you are accessing a fake website.
Another example is a job website that may offer a higher salary than the same job by other companies in that industry. To protect yourself, before submitting any information or downloading any attachments, research the company. If you have never heard of the company or the offer, contact competitors and question the legitimacy of what is being offered. If you are purchasing something, make sure the padlock is visible in the right hand corner of the website scrollbar.
Another resource to verify if a website is legitimate is www. This website contains reviews of websites along with message boards for up to date phishing and identification scams going on. SMiShing In this scheme, the identity thief sends spam text messages posing as a financial institution or other legitimate entity.
The text message has a sense of urgency, and can scare you into thinking there is a serious emergency by leading you to believe you will suffer financial losses or fees if there is no response. This may lead you to disclose personal identifying information by clicking on the link that appears on the text message. Do not dial back the unknown number, you would only be providing the spammer some of the information they need from you. Look through the phone book or the internet for a number to contact the organization that is supposedly contacting you.
Verify that your information is actually needed because you have been solicited for information through text messaging. If you find that the request is not legitimate, contact your cell phone provider and alert them of the scheme. If you find you have become a victim of identity theft, read our What To Do If Your Identity Is Stolen web page for steps to follow that can help you restore your credit. Malware Based Phishing This scheme occurs when the thief attaches a harmful computer program made to look helpful onto emails, websites, and other electronic documents on the Internet.
This type of computer program is called malware. The malware uses key loggers and screen loggers to record your keyboard strokes and sites that you visit on the Internet. The malware sends the information to the schemer who is located at another location using the Internet. An example of this type of phishing is an email disguised as coming from Norton Anti-Virus. The message prompts you to install an updated web browser to increase your computer security.
You, click on the link and download the supposed updated browser but in reality you have just downloaded malware. To protect yourself from this type of scheme, use caution before downloading or installing any program on the web.
Tell the legitimate company that you have received an email requesting that you download a specific file, and that you would like to know if there was any legitimacy to it. Do not reply the email message; the attacker could trick you into believing that the email is authentic.
Moreover, by replying to the email message, you would be giving some of your information to the attacker. If the company tells you that email is not legitimate, report the phishing attack to the Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3 at www.
These email messages offer you opportunities for scholarships, business partnerships, or free products. In some instances, the spammer pretends to be a financial institution or organization you might belong to. The spam is sent to prompt you to provide your personal identifying information. Research the company and the opportunity or offer advertised. This can be done through a search on the internet or by contacting the company directly. Be extremely cautious of bogus offers. You can Google the offer given to see if others have received the same offer, or check www.
Usually people post messages declaring the Promotion as a scam or verifying it as being legitimate. Check out the website www. If you find that the company is illegitimate, report the phishing attack to the Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3 at www. Spear Phishing This scheme is very similar to the email phishing scam, except it attacks businesses. Spear phishers send emails to almost every employee of an organization and can be written to look like it has been sent by a division within the organization such as the IT or the human resources department.
For instance, the email might state that every employee must send their user name and password for verification purposes. You should protect yourself by contacting the network administrator or the individual that supposedly sent the email to verify that such information is needed.
Do not reply back the email. One way thieves steal taxpayer information is through IRS impersonation scams. Scammers call their victims claiming to work for the IRS or send fraudulent emails that look like official communications.
Data Breaches. A data breach is the intentional or unintentional release or theft of information, whether it is due to a cyberattack or simply the improper disposal of physical documents. If an individual is notified of a breach, their financial or personal information may have been exposed. The theft of usernames and passwords from data breaches may also fuel credential stuffing attacks in which criminals use stolen username and password combinations to hack into other accounts.
Skimming Skimming occurs when a criminal steals information as the debit or credit card is swiped. Purchase of Information on the Dark Web The dark web, or dark net , is a part of the internet that serves as a highly profitable marketplace where criminals can purchase stolen personal information.
Private photos, medical records, and financial information have all reportedly been stolen and shared on the dark web. Security researches have reported a concerning trend that cybercriminals have begun targeting children—even infants—and advertising their stolen information for sale on the dark web.
According to one report, 51 percent of new account fraud victims stated that they personally knew the individual who committed the fraud. Identity theft victims may be unaware of the crimes until there is already substantial damage to their financial assets, credit, and reputation.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to better protect yourself and your family from identity theft and identity fraud.
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