Orlando, Fla. — ‘Tis the season for fraudsters.
As Americans shop for gifts and decorate their homes for the holidays, identity thieves are counting on consumers to give up their personal information online.
It’s widely known that scammers beguile victims with phishing links embedded inside text messages, emails, and making phone calls.
“I see it all the time on Facebook,” says Brian Lewis, CEO of Intellicheck.
However, a large majority of identity theft happens by data hacking and people willingly sharing sensitive information by mistake.
“My friends are sharing things like, ‘fill out this quiz and send it to ten of your friends!’”
Sound familiar?
Those fun, seemingly-innocent Facebook quizzes that ask for things like ‘what was your high school mascot’ and ‘what’s your favorite ice cream flavor’ or ‘what was your first car’ are often a trap.
“So many of those things are the exact same questions that you’re asked if you forget your password on a website,” says Lewis.
Between social engineering and hacked personal data, the bad guys have everything they need to become you.
LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN LEWIS HERE:
How do you know if your data is being bought and sold on the dark web?
The dark web is defined by the Federal Trade Commission as “a term that describes places on the internet not indexed by traditional search engines.”
It’s where sites that illegally sell various black market goods tend to congregate and use untraceable currency.
Lewis suggests enrolling in an identity monitoring service from one of the major credit reporting agencies.
Credit Karma offers a free service and FICO sells a subscription starting at $30 a month.
The sooner a victim is able to log the theft, the better it can prove the fraud case to their bank and prevent the victim from taking a loss.
Why are Floridians more likely to have their identity stolen?
Replicating your drivers license is the number one way fraudsters steal your identity.
That little card can be a golden ticket for thieves because it can allow someone to open credit in your name, which accounts for more than 51% of identity theft cases.
“Drivers licenses coming from China are so good, law enforcement can’t tell them from the fakes,” Lewis said.
It’s easy for a crook to use a fake ID with your name to open a store credit card.
“So if law enforcement can’t tell it apart, how is that store clerk going to do it? They’re not trained, they don’t know.”
Another 15% of identity theft in Florida comes in the form of taking out loans in a victim’s name and it happens in a nearly identical manor.
What do I do if I think my identity has been stolen?
Remember, just because your personal information is being sold on the dark web doesn’t mean it’s being used.
That’s why it’s important to keep a close eye on when your personal information is being listed for sale.
If your identity is stolen, the first thing to do is immediately contact your bank and report the fraud.
If credit from a store was taken in your name, call that store to report the card.
Also, report the case to the FTC.
Additionally, Lewis recommends reporting the fraud to the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
“You set yourself up now to stop it from happening again and you’ve started that chain of proof that it wasn’t you who did it,” Lewis says.
How can I prevent my ID or personal information from being stolen?
There are a few simple ways that you can defend your sensitive information from greedy hackers and scammers.
Here are a few evergreen tips:
- Change your online passwords often (at least once every three months).
- Make your online passwords complicated (use random phrases with random numbers and symbols).
- Don’t use the same passwords across different platforms.
- Never click on a link in an email or text message from someone you don’t know.
- The health department will never ask for personal identifiable information in order to conduct contact tracing.
- Package delivery services such as FedEx, UPS or Amazon will not send you text notifications unless you have specifically enrolled in them.
More tips from the FTC here:
Stay healthy and stay aware!