Identity theft is when an imposter gains access to your personally identifiable information (PII) and poses as you. These fraudsters assume your information and identity for their gain.

Identity fraud may involve stealing your identity card, social security, and driver’s license number.

Methods Of Identity Theft

Fraudsters may steal your personal information and details used to sign up on your social and online platforms. Companies and websites that store information and details on files are vulnerable to data leaks and breaches.

Account Takeover (ATO)

Account takeover (ATO) is when cybercriminals attack and get ownership of your website, banking account, payment platform, or email using stolen/ impersonated credentials. An account takeover is done in a series of steps:

A cyber fraudster finds access to your account.
The non-monetary account details, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII), new card requests, and password changes, are changed.
The fraudster can now perform unauthorized transactions and activities that lead to your financial loss or tainted public relations.

Types Of Vulnerable Accounts

Account takeover fraud spreads fast and can go unnoticed in some cases before the owner realizes it. The scary part is that any account is vulnerable to a malicious takeover. Examples of such vulnerable accounts include:

Wireless phone contracts
Savings
Checking
Government benefits
Store loyalty rewards
E-commerce accounts
Credit cards, among others.

Methods Used In Account Takeover Fraud

Phishing

Individuals send fraudulent messages that trick you into revealing your personal information or convince you to send money to invalid accounts. Phishing can be done through email, social media messages, and text message services (SMS).

Credential stuffing

Fraudsters purchase personal and confidential information from the Dark Web. When malicious individuals hack or sabotage a database and illegally acquire useful information, they take it to the Dark Web, auctioning it to fraudsters who use it to take over accounts illegally.

SIM card swapping

Fraudsters use cunning ways to copy an individual’s mobile phone number and information during a SIM swap process. Later, the impersonator uses your cloned SIM card to access your mobile banking app.

Others

Malware
Mobile banking Trojans
Middleman-attack.

The Difference Between Identity Theft And Account Takeover

An account takeover is maliciously grabbing someone’s personal details and information to access their account, like online and banking platforms. Fraudsters will find ingenious ways to steal your passwords and log-in credentials and use them to reset your passwords to lock you out completely. Once this is done, the fraudsters will use your accountant for their gain.

On the other hand, identity theft is when fraudsters impersonate the owner of accounts they have hacked/ acquired information of. The fraudsters will continue posing like you and use your credentials to take out new lending, create new accounts, or use credit cards. The sad thing is that the impersonated owner of the account will always be liable for the financial losses or misconduct attached to the hijacked account.

Protection Against Identity Fraud

With increased identity fraud cases, it is vital to know some basics of protecting yourself from identity fraud. The following are methods to reduce your risk of fraudsters taking over your account. However, other factors are beyond your control to prevent them from happening. Instead, you can limit the ways fraudsters can use your data in case of an attack.

Constantly check your credit card and bank statement for inaccuracies.
Cross-check the authenticity of businesses or individuals that ask you to provide personal information before consenting to the demands.
Avoid displaying personally identifiable information (PII) like social security and credit numbers on open platforms like envelopes or cheques.
Your social security number should remain private unless legally required to present/ write it somewhere.
Avoid giving account numbers to unknown individuals over the phone.
Store all your financial documents in a secure location
Choose difficult-to-crack passwords
Avoid using the same passwords for all your accounts.
Change your VPN codes and passwords frequently.
Never use your laptop to store your PINs and passwords.
Ensure your computer’s security system is up-to-date and robust.

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itdirection

Tech & Sustainable Innovations at IT Direction

Ian McKenzie is a passionate technology writer and advocate for sustainable innovations. With a background in environmental science and tech trends, Ian brings a unique perspective to the intersection of technology and sustainability.