Identity theft is on the Raise, Credit Monitoring Can Help
When bad actors unlawfully utilize your identity for gain, you must wonder how the bad actor obtained enough of your personal information to successfully exploit you and why they chose you in the first place. The truth is, in many cases, you are simply the victim of chance. Your email address or phone number was wrapped up in a cyberattack, or they got your information as a result of attacking a third party with which you do business.
Cases where an individual is specifically attacked can involve corporate officers who have access to lots of sensitive information and/or money. These attacks are better constructed, and corporations have processes and technology to combat a bad outcome. Whether you are a senior executive or simply a concerned consumer, you can be better prepared with knowledge and tools to reduce risk.
How does it happen?
There are two main categories of attacks that people should understand:
Attacking the person (you)
This occurs when the bad actor is attacking you directly. Attacking the Person involves:
· Phishing – bad actors utilizes Email as the attack vector.
· Smishing – bad actors utilizes texting as the attack vector.
· Vishing – bad actor utilizes a voice call as the attack vector.
· Direct mail – bad actors utilizes snail mail (USPS etc.) as the attack vector.
Attacking a third party
This occurs when a third party (companies that have your personal information) is attacked. This one is more difficult to influence, but there are a few things you can do.
Attacking a third party includes the same methods used to attack the person but also includes attacks on a company’s technology. The attacker is trying to gain access to information that provides value (to them) and usually consists of personal information like names, addresses, date of birth, social security numbers, etc., or credit card and banking information. Your ability to prevent these types of attacks is limited because the bad actor isn’t attacking you directly. That said, there are some things you can do.
Ensure you NEVER immediately react/respond to emails/text messages/phone calls inquiring about personal information or payment information. A few minutes of research can save you weeks or months (or years) to reconstruct your identity and credit relationships.
These rules need to be followed, without fail:
Email – Never click links within emails unless you’re certain they are legitimate. Always confirm with the supposed source of the email by contacting a verifiable telephone number (or email) and confirming whatever is being asked. Never use the information within the suspect email as a confirmation method. Use known, good contact methods.
Websites (treat them like email) – Never enter personal or financial information into a website unless you navigate there yourself, via known good links. Never enter anything into unsolicited or strangely timed/looking web popups!
Text messages – Never respond to text messages with personal or financial information. No reputable company will ever ask for this info via text messaging. If in doubt, contact the alleged “text sender” via a known good contact method and ask them if they texted you.
Phone call – Never provide personal or financial information over the phone unless you have verified who has called you, or unless you initiated and intended to contact a company (your bank etc.) and contacted them via a known good phone number. Never call a phone number that comes in via suspect email, text message, or phone call. This could sound like an unknown speaker saying a variation of, “Go ahead and call this other number…” But that other number will be fraudulent!
Attacking a third party (companies that have your information)
To reduce the risk of a third party losing your personal or banking information, you should do the following:
· Don’t save your credit card or banking information on third-party websites (allowing them to store this information). If they get hacked, you don’t want your credit card or banking information involved! It’s a bit more work to type this information every time you purchase something, but this effort goes a long way toward preventing identity theft.
· Be conscious of who you’re doing business with because they probably have information that can lead to the theft of your identity. Do not share your personal or banking information with companies you feel are risky. Your gut feeling can play a very big part in reducing risk.
Use Credit monitoring services to keep a close eye on your credit and track changes in your credit reports. If there are significant changes, there are services (such as IDShield) that can alert you immediately. That way, you can take quick action to address suspicious activity by doing things like freezing your credit, changing passwords, and getting in touch with an identity protection specialist.
What is credit monitoring? Credit monitoring is a way to keep tabs on changes in your financial behavior for the purpose of informing you of your creditworthiness.
Are there weird new buying patterns with your Visa card?
Are there strange, out-of-state charges on your Mastercard?
Did your credit score suddenly drop a significant amount?
Was a new line of credit taken out under your name?
Good credit monitoring services catch such patterns and immediately let you know.
On its own, monitoring can’t stop an online thief from stealing your identity.
It can’t prevent fraudsters from continuing to use a stolen identity
It won’t reverse any action a thief has already taken
The sooner you learn that there are new patterns attributed to you, the sooner you can act to stop it.
What are my credit monitoring options?
Pricing and features of the various services out there vary. Some banks offer free services and the big three credit bureaus—TransUnion, Experian and Equifax—also offer it.
IDShield will protect you
IDShield offers best-in-class credit monitoring, personal data monitoring, privacy and reputation management, can help you fix mistakes on credit reports, can help you stop getting credit card offers, and help identify loan fraud. IDShield prides itself on its highly qualified team of professionals, including licensed private investigators, who will help should anything ever go wrong.
CONTACT REGINA DOWNS (443) 208-1408
Regina Downs