In today's world, everyday people's security becomes more at risk. We're not talking about security in a physical sense but rather in terms of one's identity. To be more specific we're talking about identity theft. Whether you swipe your credit card at Walmart or you're simply browsing the internet on your phone while taking a break at work, identity theft can happen in a variety of ways and mostly at any time, that is unless you do everything possible to help prevent it. What is identity theft exactly? It can take many forms but overall, identity theft is when an unknown actor uses your information for their own personal gain whether that's taking funds out of an account or keeping those funds in an account but unlawfully using those funds to buy a boat. Either way, it's your information that is being used without your authorization. A better example to illustrate just what identity theft is would be using your social security number. Hypothetically Unknown Actor A has your social security number along with your date of birth, and a few answers to some of your most used security questions. Maybe they even have a password or two. Now let's say Unknown Actor A takes all this information and applies for a Mastercard. They get approved and then start spending with their new credit card under your name; you've just become a victim of identity theft.

What are some examples of Identity theft?

As we mentioned before, identity theft can take hold of someone's life in many ways. It can happen via your social security number or it can happen through a variety of other ways like a data breach, unsecure browsing, and dark web marketplaces to name a few. It's important to remember some of these common methods as knowing what to look out for is often the first step to prevention as a whole. It can take just keeping your information secure as a metaphorical way of locking the door to your personal data. Now of course, any of these methods below can happen when you're least expecting it, but understanding how identity theft is pulled off can lead to stopping it as well.

Card Theft/Card Skimming

One day you go to see a concert in a town thirty miles away from home but beforehand, you want to make sure that you have enough cash on you just in case of an emergency or anything else. You pull over to the nearest deli or gas station and outside there's this old, beat up ATM. Quickly, you swipe your debit card and take out some cash. The next day you realize that your account has been cleaned out. You call your bank and the representative gets you through to three other departments and then the local authorities. At the end of it all, they determine you were a victim of card skimming. What is that exactly? It's when a bad actor puts a device on the slot where you insert your card on an ATM, and this device is able to collect your card's information for future use. That's what card skimming is and every day someone falls victim to that or just your average thief stealing a debit or credit card in general.

Stealing Mail

Waiting for that new debit or credit card in the mail? Have you recently sent out something with your social security number and birthday in the envelope? These are all ways that mail theft can happen via theft. All it takes is for one bad actor to steal your mail, open that envelope and take your contents or information and use it with bad intentions. This is known as mail fraud and comes with some hefty jail time if caught. But unfortunately for the victim, it can be devastating in terms of financial loss as the most sensitive types of information is shared through mail.

Phishing and Spam Attacks

Everyone probably has that aunt or uncle, maybe even a parent that has brought them a laptop and asked why is it running funny only to find out that they clicked something they shouldn't have clicked and now they have either a computer virus or one of their bank accounts is now vulnerable. These types of identity theft fall under the category of phishing and spam. What happens is that bad actors send you a link that looks normal and enticing, and then you click it and they gain access to a plethora of your information, sometimes even control over your device itself. Clicking unknown links make up a vast majority of online identity theft cases today.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is another way that bad actors can get a hold of your information because your IP address may be holding things like passwords, banks numbers and more. Once they can get hold of that Wi-Fi password and get into your system you're more susceptible to Wi-Fi related identity theft.

What To Look Out For

Some common things to look out for in prevention towards identity theft:

• Make sure that any ATM you use is void of any devices that look fishy on the card reader. If the card reader looks strange or bulky in any way, try pulling the device off, and if it does come off in any way, don't use that ATM.
• Always watch the person that swipes your card at a deli or grocery store. Are they taking down any numbers off your card? Did they take a picture of it? Those are clear signs that that person may be intending to use your card for identity theft. It's one thing if the card doesn't swipe and they need to type it into their system, but they're writing anything down or taking pictures, be alert.
• Don't click any suspicious links, or ones that look too good to be true as they're most likely scams. Only accept links from trusted sources that you know and interact with on a daily basis.
• Make sure that any mail you insert into a mailbox is fully inserted. Make sure your envelopes are always sealed as well.
• Change your passwords, this includes your Wi-Fi password.

What Should You Do If You Think You've Been a Victim of Identity Fraud?

If you think you've been a victim of identity theft here are some things you should do right away:

• Call your bank or creditors
• Lock your credit report and credit
• Report it to the FTC
• Call the police
• Change your passwords
• Visit the FTC site for more information

Identity theft can be a scary thing for anyone, but there are always a few steps you can take to be extra alert and lower chances of being a victim. Until then, keep changing those passwords and checking those ATMS!