Over the past few months we’ve shown you the dangers of phishing and how easy it is to get caught out, and we’ve also honoured those who dared to share their personal information online. This time we’re going to show you exactly what happens when these cyber criminals use your personal information. Because…
Identitytheftis
What is theft?
It’s when cyber criminals gain access to your sensitive personal information and use it to take over everything. They take over your house, you car, your bank accounts and your name. Cyber criminals can, and will, use your name to take out bank loans and obtain credit, leaving you to pay the consequences.
Identity theft can happen in the blink of an eye, which is why you should be extra observant and careful when sharing any bit of sensitive personal information.
What information could they
Whilst it’s near impossible to not give out personal details in today’s world, whether it’s a quick email or a purchase from your favourite online store, our details are everywhere.
Make sure to be extra careful whenever you share these details about yourself.
Your ID or Passport Number
Banking information, such as credit card numbers, bank account and routing numbers
Medical information such as your blood type and medical history
Date of birth
Phone number
Email address
Physical address
Gender, race and ethnicity
Photos and voice recordings
Marital status
Religious beliefs and political opinions
Employment history and salary information
Educational information and history
In the end, you can only take precautions to help prevent identity theft. But if you follow these guideline, the chances of your identity being stolen is much lower.
You should never use your corporate email address for personal use. This means you shouldn’t create online profiles using it.
When you’re doing online shopping, to ensure that hackers can’t obtain your credit details, check for the lock icon on the site address.
Be sure to contact IT if any of this starts happening to your computer:
Your PC starts opening and closing applications without you clicking
Your PC is suddenly extremely slow to respond to all applications
Before opening an email make sure that it’s from a trusted source. Otherwise your computer could be breached and all your data could be leaked.
When creating a password, make sure that it is at least 9 characters long and uses uppercase, lowercase and symbols as this will make it take much longer for a hacker to hack. To find out how to create a strong password, click here.
Luckily it’s not all doomandgloom
Although there are 8 different types of identity theft, there are ways you could set yourself up to be protected as much as possible.
You could start off by shredding each and every paper with your details on it, or you could cancel every credit card you don’t currently use. But the easiest solution would be to subscribe to an identity theft protection service. There are several reputable companies that offer affordable packages that are specifically designed to help you in the case of you becoming a victim of identity theft.
