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An example of how losing your personal data can turn your life into a nightmare.
Revealed details of a remarkable incident that occurred in November 2021 in Sydney, Australia, with a woman named Celia. When moving from one house to another, she left her bag unattended, which was stolen by thieves. The bag contained the most important documents: a driver's license, a credit card, and a health insurance policy. Celia immediately realized that she had lost not just her personal belongings, but also some of her security.
The events that followed the bag theft revealed the depth of the identity theft problem. A few months later, Celia was contacted by a dance studio located near the scene of the theft. Envelopes with bank cards in her name began to be mysteriously delivered to the studio's address. It was then that Celia realized that the identity cards from her stolen purse had been used to open 22 bank accounts in her name and without her knowledge. Criminals used open accounts to transfer and store money obtained illegally, including through fraud with gift cards.
"The first step was to steal someone's identity card. Then submit an online application to the bank, upload your ID card and open a bank account. Next, the bank needs to send the customer a bank card linked to the invoice to the address. Obviously, scammers will not be able to provide their real address. So they choose fake addresses," Celia explained.
Celia faced enormous difficulties in trying to close the fake accounts and restore her financial security. Banks required a lot of documents from her and her personal presence to close accounts opened by fraudsters. She wondered why it was so easy to open an account in someone else's name, but so difficult to close it, even as the legal owner of the documents.
In addition, difficulties have arisen with some credit companies. Celia needed to freeze all loans at all three bureaus so that fraudulent loans could not be obtained in her name. Otherwise, scammers can destroy the victim's credit score.
It took Celia 2 years to collect all the details and prevent criminals from using her data for other purposes. Celia tried to change her driver's license number, but faced bureaucratic obstacles when applying to the police.
It is noteworthy that after a cyberattack on the second largest telecommunications operator Optus, Celia's data was disclosed. This was good for the girl, because she did not have to go through all the paperwork to change her license. The company simply changed all the data at once as part of preventing further attacks on customers.
The problem of identity theft is not limited to Australia alone. According to the survey data Debt.com 49% of Americans have experienced such a problem, with some of them ending up with hundreds or thousands of dollars in debt. In the US, a new case of identity theft is registered every 22 seconds.
Celia encourages people to pay more attention to protecting their personal data, especially in light of the latest advances in artificial intelligence. Celia recommends using privacy protection tools that allow you to encrypt your personal data using a decentralized identity. This technology can prevent similar incidents in the future by providing secure storage of credentials in a phishing-proof environment.
Celia shares her experience to warn others against similar troubles. She believes that it is important to set aside time to protect your personal data as much as possible. While protecting your data may seem like a daunting task, the consequences of data theft are much worse and can lead to serious financial and emotional losses.
Revealed details of a remarkable incident that occurred in November 2021 in Sydney, Australia, with a woman named Celia. When moving from one house to another, she left her bag unattended, which was stolen by thieves. The bag contained the most important documents: a driver's license, a credit card, and a health insurance policy. Celia immediately realized that she had lost not just her personal belongings, but also some of her security.
The events that followed the bag theft revealed the depth of the identity theft problem. A few months later, Celia was contacted by a dance studio located near the scene of the theft. Envelopes with bank cards in her name began to be mysteriously delivered to the studio's address. It was then that Celia realized that the identity cards from her stolen purse had been used to open 22 bank accounts in her name and without her knowledge. Criminals used open accounts to transfer and store money obtained illegally, including through fraud with gift cards.
"The first step was to steal someone's identity card. Then submit an online application to the bank, upload your ID card and open a bank account. Next, the bank needs to send the customer a bank card linked to the invoice to the address. Obviously, scammers will not be able to provide their real address. So they choose fake addresses," Celia explained.
Celia faced enormous difficulties in trying to close the fake accounts and restore her financial security. Banks required a lot of documents from her and her personal presence to close accounts opened by fraudsters. She wondered why it was so easy to open an account in someone else's name, but so difficult to close it, even as the legal owner of the documents.
In addition, difficulties have arisen with some credit companies. Celia needed to freeze all loans at all three bureaus so that fraudulent loans could not be obtained in her name. Otherwise, scammers can destroy the victim's credit score.
It took Celia 2 years to collect all the details and prevent criminals from using her data for other purposes. Celia tried to change her driver's license number, but faced bureaucratic obstacles when applying to the police.
It is noteworthy that after a cyberattack on the second largest telecommunications operator Optus, Celia's data was disclosed. This was good for the girl, because she did not have to go through all the paperwork to change her license. The company simply changed all the data at once as part of preventing further attacks on customers.
The problem of identity theft is not limited to Australia alone. According to the survey data Debt.com 49% of Americans have experienced such a problem, with some of them ending up with hundreds or thousands of dollars in debt. In the US, a new case of identity theft is registered every 22 seconds.
Celia encourages people to pay more attention to protecting their personal data, especially in light of the latest advances in artificial intelligence. Celia recommends using privacy protection tools that allow you to encrypt your personal data using a decentralized identity. This technology can prevent similar incidents in the future by providing secure storage of credentials in a phishing-proof environment.
Celia shares her experience to warn others against similar troubles. She believes that it is important to set aside time to protect your personal data as much as possible. While protecting your data may seem like a daunting task, the consequences of data theft are much worse and can lead to serious financial and emotional losses.
