How to stay safe from identity theft online
An illegal online process of stealing someone’s information including name, number or credit card details. This information is used to impersonate the victim for financial gain being employed in fraudulent and criminal cases. Here are some types of Identity Theft:
Financial Identity Theft: The most common form where the stolen information is used is to access bank accounts or take out loans in the victim’s name.
Criminal Identity Theft: Stolen information is given to law enforcement during an arrest, creating problems for the victims.
Medical Identity Theft: The victim’s identity is used to get medical services making them to deal with fake records and bills.
How Users Become Victims of Identity Loss
Several methods are used to steal identities. Some common ways are:
Phishing Attacks
Scammers send fake emails and texts that imitate legitimate organizations. Recipients are tricked into providing passwords, credit card numbers and social security numbers. The more targeted version of phishing is spear phishing, where the message is customized to appear more trustworthy.
Data Breaches
Cybercriminals infiltrate the servers of organizations that store data and sensitive information and sell the data on the dark web.
Malware and Public Network
Malware and Spyware are infected into the devices and capture credentials entered on websites. Similarly, unsecured public Wi-Fi is more vulnerable to hacking. Data transmitted on these networks is easily intercepted by techniques like man in the middle.
How to stay safe from identity theft online.Things to know
The following strategies should be kept in mind to safeguard data from being stolen.
1. Enable 2FA
This strategy adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second form of identity verification. This helps you to protect the information in the event of password cracking. The second factor is in the form of text, biometric verification, or code. This also prevents the impacts of phishing attacks where passwords are easily stolen. Moreover, many 2FA systems notify users instantly when log in attempts are done without consent.
2. Beware of Phishing Scams
These attacks are the most common attacks used to steal data. Being vigilant of attacks means:
Not Clicking on Every Link: Do not open links or attachments in random messages which are are often embedded with malware and could be infected to steal data.
Request Verification: Before opening any link and responding to requests, verify the legitimacy by contacting the company.
Looking for Signs: Cybercriminal attacks often have obvious signs including grammatical mistakes, unfamiliar email addresses, and urgent calls for action.
3. Securing the Device
Your device acts as a gateway through which personal information is accessed. Securing it is a crucial strategy. One should safeguard the one’s device by:
Anti-malware Software: These antivirus and anti-malware software are the first line of defense against attacks. They scan, detect, isolate, and delete harmful data that could corrupt files.
Regular Updates: The features of any application or browser can be exploited by cybercriminals because of their continuous attacks. Companies release updates to fix those manipulations.
Firewalls: These are barriers between the device and the network that filter the traffic preventing unauthorized access. This is important for public connections where multiple devices are connected.
4. Using VPN
VPN safeguards data in public WiFi networks as they are often unsecured. Data Transmission over such networks can easily be intercepted. VPN encrypts the internet connection and prevents such risks. Moreover, VPNs can mask IP addresses, making the activity harder to trace, which prevents malicious actors from detecting physical locations. Similarly, the impacts of MITM attacks are also reduced as a VPN encrypts the connection and makes the detection for data manipulation impossible.
5. Check on your Accounts
By monitoring your accounts regularly, you can detect any suspicious access or transactions. You can have respond immediately in advance minimizing potential damage. Users can also spot small changes that are made to check whether an account is active or not. These small changes are signs of forthcoming larger fraud. Setting up account alerts is an additional safety feature that provides alerts for changes in accounts.
6. Shredding the documents
The simple and effective way of safeguarding data is to shred personal documents. Physical documents are a source of information that can be exploited by hackers. Shredding documents makes it hard for the thieves to use data or reconstruct the information. It also improves privacy as documents often have personal details which can be used impersonating companies to gather data from you. Shredding lets you have control over personal data.
