The digital age poses a growing danger to personal information as it is easily accessible and prone to theft. As such, self-defending against identity theft is a primary factor in preserving one’s security and freedom.
Identity theft becomes possible when a person takes your data and uses it without your authorization usually to gain monetary benefits or to do a deceptive act.
Cybercriminals have diverse approaches to how they steal personal information ranging from data breaches to social engineering.
This provides information about six efficient ways of protecting your personal information and avoiding identity theft.
Secure social security number (SSN)
Your social security number (SSN), which was assigned to you by the Social Security Administration is the most important information to the identity thieves that can be used wrongly.
It can be used by identity thieves to open new accounts, secure bank loans and gain access to your sensitive financial details.
You should take the necessary steps to shield your SSN and provide it if needed only.
In 2017, the Equifax hack incident resulted in the exposure of the SSNs of over 145 million people across the US. This accident fluctuates the fact of how risky it can be when an unknown person gets to know the private details.
Through practices such as your SSN confidentiality, shredding any documents that contain your SSN before you dispose of them, and verifying where you are asked, you can reduce the prospect of identity theft by a significant amount.
Be aware of Phishing Attempts
Phishing is a criminally utilized technique to dupe individuals into revealing confidential information like login details, credit card numbers, and personal data.
Phishing emails typically imitate normal communication from genuine sources, for instance, banks, government offices, and established companies.
In 2016 the opponent of the Democratic National Committee’s low-level employees was on a phishing campaign and was able to access confidential emails and other sensitive information.
Through alertness and caution with unexpected emails, not clicking on any questionable links or attachments as well as checking the reliability of claims to personal information, it is possible to safeguard yourself from phishing attacks.
Monitor your financial accounts regularly
Remember that you should check your accounts regularly is very important because only you can find unauthorized use of your personal information.
Use your bank statements, credit card statements, and credit reports to feel as if you are checking up everything.
Any found foreign charges or odd inconsistencies should be reported immediately. One of the largest cyber-attacks of all time is the Capital One breach that occurred in 2019.
An old employee underused the vulnerable web application firewall’s function and got the system out of the way to break into the customer’s info.
Consistent monitoring of your financial accounts coupled with an instant reportage of any strange happenings to your bank will decrease the effects of identity theft and fraudulent transactions.
Secure Your Devices and Online Accounts
The digital age has many good and bad aspects. Since more devices and an online platform are becoming a part of people’s lives the need to protect them from cybersecurity issues has increased to a greater scale.
By implementing a strong and unique password for each online account, enabling multi-factor authentication, and always updating your device software and security patches your devices and accounts would protected from unauthorized access.
In 2020 the Twitter handle of prominent individuals and organizations, such as celebrities, politicians, and businesses was changed by a social engineering campaign to obtain the control of the admin tools of these accounts.
By implementing safe online practices and ensuring that you adhere to every security measure available, you will diminish the probability of identity theft and privacy breaches.
Shred Sensitive Documents
Theft of identity becomes easy when you leave papers important such as bank account statements, tax statements and credit card bills around for the criminal to pick up. You should shred or otherwise destroy any document that contains confidential information before trashing.
In 2013, the infamous Target data breach was the cause for the theft of over 40 million consumers credit card information which serves as a reminder that seemingly simple documents containing personal information need to be taken with utmost caution and security measures.
Make sure to rip in half documents containing your secret information before you discard them to prevent identity theft or unauthorized disclosure of your data.
Limit Sharing Personal Information Online
Be concerned about posting any personal information online, especially on social media sites and websites that are not fully secured.
Do not share your personal information like full name, address, phone number, and date of birth as predators have such details to get access to some of the accounts or to enter as you.
In 2014, hackers were able to take advantage of Facebook’s “View As” feature which led to millions of user’s private information being compromised which implies the risks and dangers that we are exposed to when sharing private information over social media.
Exercising caution as a best practice and keeping private away from anyone who wants to steal your data, you can reduce the number of cybercrimes.
Conclusion
To sum up, the security of personal information and avoidance of identity theft as a result demand full awareness, engagement, and proactive steps.
Through these measures, you will decrease the risk of ID theft and ensure your security and personal life in the digital world.
It is therefore important to keep yourself updated about fraud schemes and take proactive measures to safeguard your details to prevent identity theft and enjoy an assurance of your information safety.
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