1 Billion Reasons To Protect Your Identity Online

Digital Security

Corporate information breaches are a gateway to personality fraud, but they’re not nan only one. Here’s a lowdown connected really your individual information could beryllium stolen – and really to make judge it isn’t.

08 Apr 2025  •  , 5 min. read

Data breaches are a increasing threat to companies and a nightmare for their customers. According to nan latest figures, 2024 witnessed 3,158 publically reported incidents successful nan US – conscionable short of nan all-time high. Over 1.3 cardinal data breach notification letters had to beryllium sent retired to victims arsenic a result, pinch much than a cardinal of them caught up successful 5 mega breaches of complete 100 cardinal records each.

The bad news is that this is conscionable nan extremity of nan iceberg. There are galore different ways that your personally identifiable accusation (PII) could get into nan incorrect hands. Once circulating successful nan cybercrime underground, it’s only a matter of clip earlier it is utilized successful personality fraud attempts.

What’s astatine stake?

What information are we talking about? It could include:

• Names and addresses
• Credit/payment paper numbers
• Social Security aliases authorities ID numbers
• Bank relationship numbers
• Medical security details
• Passport/driver’s license
• Logins to firm and individual online accounts

Once your individual information has been stolen, either successful a monolithic information breach aliases via 1 of nan galore methods listed below, this information will apt beryllium sold aliases fixed distant to others for usage successful various fraud schemes. This could scope from forbidden purchases to relationship takeover (ATO), caller relationship fraud, aliases phishing schemes designed to elicit moreover much delicate information. In immoderate cases, existent specifications are mixed pinch machine-generated ones to create synthetic identities which are harder for fraud filters to block.

It's large business. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, personality fraud and scams cost Americans $47bn successful 2024 alone.

How does personality theft work?

Identity fraud yet comes down to data. So really could cybercriminals typically get yours? If they’re not stealing ample troves of it from third-party organizations you do business with, nan apical vectors for much targeted attacks against individuals are:

• Phishing/smishing/vishing: Classic societal engineering attacks tin travel via various channels, ranging from accepted email phishing, to texts (smishing) and moreover telephone calls (vishing). The threat character will typically usage tied-and-tested techniques to instrumentality you into doing their bidding, which is usually either clicking connected a malicious link, filling retired individual accusation aliases opening a malicious attachment. These see usage of charismatic branding to impersonate a well-known institution aliases institution, and tricks for illustration caller ID aliases domain spoofing.
• Digital skimming: To get clasp of your paper details, threat actors whitethorn insert malicious skimming codification into nan web pages of a celebrated e-commerce aliases akin site. The full process is wholly invisible to nan victim.
• Public Wi-Fi: Unsecured nationalist Wi-Fi networks tin facilitate man-in-the-middle attacks wherever your individual accusation is intercepted. Hackers mightiness besides group up rogue hotspots to cod information and redirect victims to malicious sites.
• Malware: Infostealer malware is simply a increasing problem for some firm users and consumers. It tin beryllium unwittingly installed via various mechanisms, including phishing messages, drive-by-downloads from infected websites, cracked games, Google Ads, aliases moreover legitimate-looking applications including fake gathering software. Most infostealers harvest files, information streams, paper details, crypto assets, passwords and keystrokes.
• Malvertising: Malicious ads tin beryllium programmed to bargain information, sometimes without moreover demanding personification interaction.
• Malicious websites: Phishing sites tin beryllium spoofed to look arsenic if they are nan existent thing, correct down to faked domain. In nan lawsuit of drive-by-downloads, each a personification has to do is sojourn a malicious page and a covert malware install will begin. Often, malicious websites are pushed to nan apical of hunt rankings truthful they person much exposure, acknowledgment to nefarious SEO techniques.
• Malicious apps: Malware, including banking Trojans and infostealers, tin beryllium disguised arsenic morganatic apps, pinch nan risks peculiarly precocious extracurricular charismatic app stores for illustration Google Play.
• Loss/theft of devices: If your device goes missing and doesn’t person capable protection, hackers could ambush it for individual and financial data.

How to forestall personality fraud

The astir evident measurement to forestall personality fraud is to extremity nan bad guys getting astatine your individual and financial accusation successful nan first place. It requires a bid of steps that, erstwhile applied together, tin do a bully occupation of achieving conscionable this. Consider nan following:

• Strong, unsocial passwords: Choose a different password for each site/app/account, and shop them successful a password head which will callback them seamlessly for you. Enhance this by switching connected two-factor authentication (2FA) successful your online accounts. It intends that, moreover if a threat character obtains your password, they won’t beryllium capable to usage it. An authenticator app aliases hardware information cardinal is nan champion action for 2FA.
• Install information software: Use information package from a reputable vendor for each of your devices and PCs. This will scan and artifact malicious apps and downloads, observe and artifact phishing websites and emblem suspicious activity, among galore different things.
• Be skeptical: Always beryllium connected nan lookout for nan warning signs of phishing: an unsolicited connection urging punctual action, containing clickable links aliases attachments to open. The sender whitethorn usage tricks specified arsenic time-sensitive prize draws, aliases warnings that a good will beryllium levied unless you reply ASAP.  
• Only usage apps from morganatic sites: Stick to nan Apple App Store and Google Play successful nan mobile world, to limit your vulnerability to malicious apps. Always cheque reviews and permissions earlier downloading.
• Be wary of nationalist Wi-Fi: Steer clear of nationalist Wi-Fi or, if you can’t debar it, effort not to unfastened immoderate delicate accounts while logged on. Either way, use a VPN successful bid to enactment safer.

Responding to a breach

There’s thing overmuch you tin do astir third-party information breaches, speech from electing not to prevention your costs paper and individual specifications erstwhile buying items. This will mean there’s little for threat actors to bargain if they do negociate to breach a institution you do business with. However, it besides pays to return a proactive approach. Some identity protection products scour nan acheronian web for your details, to spot if they person already been breached, for example. If there’s a match, it could springiness you clip to cancel cards, alteration passwords and return different precautions. It besides pays to support an oculus unfastened for suspicious activity successful your slope accounts.

Other post-breach steps could include:

• Freezing your credit: Do truthful pinch each of nan 3 main in installments bureaus. This prevents them from sharing your in installments study pinch 3rd parties, meaning fraudsters can’t unfastened caller accounts successful your name.
• Tell your bank: Freeze your cards (this tin beryllium done via astir banking apps), study fraud and petition replacement cards.
• File a report: Tell nan constabulary and perchance the FTC (in nan US). By publicizing your ain victimization, it could thief others. Also record pinch immoderate applicable agencies; i.e., driver’s licence theft should beryllium reported to nan DMV.
• Change your logins: Change immoderate compromised credentials and move connected 2FA.

Identity fraud continues to beryllium a threat because it is comparatively easy for threat actors to commencement making patient profits. By reducing nan avenues they tin usage to extract our individual information, we tin discomfort our adversaries and hopefully support our ain integer lives safe and secure.