101 Ways Your Identity Can Be Stolen

101 ways your identity can be stolen

There are so many ways to get access to your private information these days. Even corporate giants have been hacked and had private information leaked. After reading our list of 101 Ways Your Identity Can Be Stolen, you may feel a little helpless and vulnerable. But by taking correct security measures and monitoring your credit score and financial accounts you should be able to identify any suspicious activity before it can harm you.

  1. Using your social security number to get insurance
  2.  Stealing identifying information from your license
  3. Identity fraud for property purchase
  4. Creating a new identity
  5. Using a child’s identity
  6. Stealing from your mailbox
  7. Phishing emails
  8. Nigerian letter scheme, or 419 fraud
  9. Telemarketing calls
  10. Sharing your vacation pictures while you’re away
  11. Sharing sensitive information on social media
  12. Stolen cellular phones
  13. Using your debit card for online shopping
  14. Going through your trash
  15. Changing your mailing address
  16. Illegally tapping into your computer
  17. Having weak wireless security
  18. Using public Wi-Fi
  19. Weak passwords
  20. Keeping your social security card in your wallet
  21. Credit card skimming
  22. Responding to or downloading attachments from spam
  23. Never checking your credit
  24. Accessing fake credit card sites
  25. Going on fake financial or utility websites
  26. ATM watchers
  27. ATM overlays
  28. Grocery store PIN thieves
  29. Downloading torrents
  30. Falling for “free” offers, like vacations, gifts, and prizes
  31. Soliciting credit card information by phone
  32. Overusing your SSN for medical identification
  33. Sharing of private data on hacker networks
  34. Bulk gathering of IDs via black market
  35. Failing to destroy old hard drives and computers
  36. Stealing your electricity
  37. Job thieving
  38. Social engineering
  39. Vishing, or “voice fishing”
  40. Baiting by pretexting
  41. Man-in-the-middle attack
  42. Pharming
  43. Malware-based phishing
  44. Corporate data breaches
  45. Keystroke logging
  46. Rootkits
  47. Scam texting —SMiShing
  48. Viruses and worms
  49. False claims for refunds from the tax authority
  50. Passport thieves
  51. Publicly listing your hobbies, memberships, and employer
  52. Driver’s license theft
  53. Using your mother’s maiden name
  54. Defrauding banks
  55. Impersonating missing children
  56. Make being a financial adviser for the famous
  57. Stealing the identity of a missing person
  58. Faking one’s own death
  59. Synthetic identity theft
  60. Having a publicly listed number
  61. Keeping credit cards, checks, and bank statements in your car
  62. Not using a safe at home
  63. Not using a security service
  64. Not freezing your credit card accounts
  65. Leaving receipts behind
  66. Not writing “check ID or license” on the back of your cards
  67. Failing to consider one-off credit cards
  68. Shopping on un- trusted websites
  69. Not having anti-virus software on your PC
  70. Using the same passwords online
  71. Never changing your passwords
  72. Logging into accounts on public computers
  73. Putting checks in the mail
  74. Leaving bills at your mailbox for pick-up
  75. Moving out
  76. Not opting out of credit card offers
  77. Not using online billing options
  78. Using unsafe mailboxes
  79. Forgetting to check links online
  80. Accepting strange friend requests
  81. Not wiping your phone
  82. Using one email account for everything
  83. Thinking Macs are impenetrable
  84. Storing credit card information for later use
  85. Not using two-step verification if available
  86. Not changing your home locks and using a “do not duplicate” label on your keys
  87. Not using a lock on your phone or tablet
  88. Using camera phones
  89. Pickpocketing
  90. Ordering unauthorized credit reports by posing as a landlord
  91. RFID scanners
  92. Using your place of birth as a security question
  93. Obtaining information for use as revenge or blackmail
  94. Stealing information from doctor’s office
  95. Filling out car loan applications
  96. Clicking on pop- ups
  97. Thieves going through pharmacy waste baskets
  98. Mortgage ID theft
  99. Opening cyber greeting cards
  100. Installing electronic surveillance
  101. Payroll data breach

We hope you enjoyed our comprehensive list, and you’re feeling a little safer knowing how you can avoid these risky situations. If you would like to discuss more about IDENTIY THEFT talk to Team Discovery.

/by