Identity theft means the illegal use of someone else's personal data for profit. Recently, there has been a surge in interest in crimes of this kind, which is associated with an increase in the number of remote services that do not require the user's personal presence, such as paying for purchases in online stores using bank cards or payment systems. The second important factor is the proliferation of social networks, where confidential information is posted in the public domain. Attackers use the collected data to carry out attacks, cheat, send spam, create doubles of famous personalities and other people to damage the victim's reputation.
Classification and methods of identity theft
There are several types of identity theft.
1. Financial frauds differ in the methods used and in the form of receipt of funds. Criminals can steal databases with user data for subsequent resale, use the information obtained to produce fake documents in order to obtain loans and make purchases in someone else's name. There are known cases of hacking of pages on social networks or the creation of clones, after which messages were sent on behalf of the victim to friends with a request to send money to the details specified by the scammers.
2. Identity theft has similarities with the previous option: here, too, there is the receipt of documents on the data provided by fraudsters (for example, in the United States, theft of a social security number allows you to get medical assistance, which will be paid from the victim's insurance account). Then attackers commit various illegal actions on behalf of someone else, as a result of which law-abiding citizens may face lawsuits or fines.
3. Identity theft. This method is used by persons hiding from creditors or other types of persecutors, illegal immigrants. It also includes those who wish to remain anonymous for any reason. 4. Theft of medical data is used by criminals mainly for the purchase of drugs that can only be dispensed with a doctor's prescription (for example, containing narcotic substances).
5. Creation of clones. Often, third parties create fake actors, musicians or athletes on social media to use the famous name for their own purposes.
Who can fall victim to identity theft?
It is believed that any person can become the object of identity theft. The increase in the number of such crimes is due to the presence of databases, which contain detailed information on millions of users. Attackers can obtain the information they need using malicious programs that easily spread over the Internet.
The following categories of persons are most likely to become a victim of such a crime:
Source of threat
Experts identify several ways by which attackers can gain opportunities for illegal actions to steal an identity:
Risk analysis
Several dozen major information leaks occur each year, allowing attackers to obtain significant amounts of data. For example, in the United States, medical records are stolen every year. The rest falls on smaller thefts of profiles of job seekers or participants in various promotions, as well as isolated attacks, which, unfortunately, are not generally recorded. In general, the growth in the number of such crimes is associated with the development of information technologies in a particular region.
In 2020, more than forty large leaks were detected, which is double the results of the previous year. Each such incident resulted in the publication of more than ten million records, and as a result, these large leaks accounted for 94.6% of all compromised data. The following guidelines can reduce your risk:
Following these instructions will minimize the risks of identity theft through your own fault.
Classification and methods of identity theft
There are several types of identity theft.
1. Financial frauds differ in the methods used and in the form of receipt of funds. Criminals can steal databases with user data for subsequent resale, use the information obtained to produce fake documents in order to obtain loans and make purchases in someone else's name. There are known cases of hacking of pages on social networks or the creation of clones, after which messages were sent on behalf of the victim to friends with a request to send money to the details specified by the scammers.
2. Identity theft has similarities with the previous option: here, too, there is the receipt of documents on the data provided by fraudsters (for example, in the United States, theft of a social security number allows you to get medical assistance, which will be paid from the victim's insurance account). Then attackers commit various illegal actions on behalf of someone else, as a result of which law-abiding citizens may face lawsuits or fines.
3. Identity theft. This method is used by persons hiding from creditors or other types of persecutors, illegal immigrants. It also includes those who wish to remain anonymous for any reason. 4. Theft of medical data is used by criminals mainly for the purchase of drugs that can only be dispensed with a doctor's prescription (for example, containing narcotic substances).
5. Creation of clones. Often, third parties create fake actors, musicians or athletes on social media to use the famous name for their own purposes.
Who can fall victim to identity theft?
It is believed that any person can become the object of identity theft. The increase in the number of such crimes is due to the presence of databases, which contain detailed information on millions of users. Attackers can obtain the information they need using malicious programs that easily spread over the Internet.
The following categories of persons are most likely to become a victim of such a crime:
- Active users of the latest gadgets and other modern technologies. The criminals have learned to obtain the necessary information from ATMs and other devices remotely using special devices.
- Internet users who neglect antivirus software. In this scenario, attackers have the opportunity to inject malicious applications into the operating system that transmit information about entered characters from the keyboard, screenshots, etc. in an unknown direction, including the details of payment systems.
- Users of social networks who are in many communities and are actively in correspondence with friends and strangers, which greatly simplifies the collection of the required information.
- People who filled out questionnaires for admission to study or work, participation in various actions; by hacking or stealing the relevant databases, criminals gain access to confidential information.
Source of threat
Experts identify several ways by which attackers can gain opportunities for illegal actions to steal an identity:
- Hacking and stealing databases from government agencies, medical and educational institutions, acquiring databases from other hackers.
- Physical theft of documents, bank cards or checks.
- Recovery of personal data from hard drives and other electronic storage media not properly prepared for disposal or sale.
- Theft or forgery of fingerprints, voices, and other biometric data.
- Obtaining information from social networks or other open sources, including resumes on job search exchanges.
- Infecting devices with malware to obtain the desired information of varying degrees of confidentiality.
Risk analysis
Several dozen major information leaks occur each year, allowing attackers to obtain significant amounts of data. For example, in the United States, medical records are stolen every year. The rest falls on smaller thefts of profiles of job seekers or participants in various promotions, as well as isolated attacks, which, unfortunately, are not generally recorded. In general, the growth in the number of such crimes is associated with the development of information technologies in a particular region.
In 2020, more than forty large leaks were detected, which is double the results of the previous year. Each such incident resulted in the publication of more than ten million records, and as a result, these large leaks accounted for 94.6% of all compromised data. The following guidelines can reduce your risk:
- Protect your personal data. You should not fill out detailed questionnaires in questionable institutions or to participate in any promotions.
- Take care of copies of your documents.
- Install antivirus software on your computer and update it regularly. This will make it harder for attackers to gain access to user files.
- Use complex passwords to log into social networks, electronic payment systems and other important services.
- Do not indicate your home and work address in social media accounts, do not post personal photographs, bank card details (oddly enough, many violate this rule), details of future vacations and information that could help an attacker find passwords for valuable accounts.
- If you find signs of a crime, contact the law enforcement agencies.
Following these instructions will minimize the risks of identity theft through your own fault.
