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Dangers of identity theft and how to protect yourself from it

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Have you come across the term identity theft? The chances are high that you have. Over the last few years, as our reliance on internet-based solutions has increased, so have the occurrences of identity theft. This begs a very simple question for all of us, what is identity theft, and how can you protect yourself and your loved ones from it?

What is the meaning of identity theft?

Identity theft is a crime that has become more prevalent in recent times. In this, someone obtains your financial or personal information and then uses them to commit identity fraud. The most stolen information includes name, address, credit card numbers, insurance account numbers, bank account numbers, and so on. Once the criminals have access to these, they commit identity fraud by doing any of the following:

1. Purchase things with the help of your credit card numbers.

2. Pretend that they are you if they are arrested.

3. Creating phone, gas, or electricity connection in your name.

4. Steal any tax refunds that you are anticipating.

5. Use your health information details to get treatment.

How bad is the situation with identity theft?

The current situation with identity theft is worse than you can imagine. You will come across frequent news articles about new ways that criminals have found to steal information regarding the identity of people. There are also several instances of data breaches across organizations, which puts your personal information at risk.

Your sensitive data might be available on the dark internet due to these breaches. By getting access to all this personal information, the criminals do not only commit identity fraud related to finances. They can cause a lot of damage to your career, and credit history, link you with criminal activities, damage your reputation, and so on. Depending on the type of attack, the effects of identity theft can linger around for a long period of time.

Protecting yourself from identity theft

Fortunately, there are a few simple measures that can help you with identity protection. Following are some of them.

1. Keep a tab of your finances

Ensure that you check your credit history and financial statements on a regular basis. If they are any discrepancies or unknown charges or transactions, make sure that you address them at the earliest.

2. Protect yourself from phishing attacks.

Phishing is a type of attack where the scammers pretend to be someone else to gather your personal information via emails, SMS, messages on social media, texts, etc.

3. Sign up for identity protection programs.

You can sign up for an identity protection program, where monitors are set on all your personal information that is sensitive. It monitors for any fraud and informs you before scammers make any attempts to steal the data.

Unknown dangers of identity theft

Since the source is very difficult to identify, it can take a lot of time to trace and recover completely. Here are some of the ways identity theft can impact you.

1. Criminals can steal any tax refunds that you might be expecting.

2. They can create new credit card accounts and even take loans in your name.

3. They can use your medical insurance to undergo treatments.

4. Some of your personal data might be available on the Dark Web for a long time.

5. It increases the chances of you receiving spam emails and calls.

6. They can cause damage to your credit score.

7. They can take over some of your email accounts and other accounts as well.

8. They might commit crimes under your name.

9. You could be a victim of multiple instances of identity fraud.

10. They can steal the identities of your parents and children as well.

11. Identity fraud can cause significant emotional and psychological distress.

12. You might end up spending a considerable amount of time and money to recover your identity.

13. You might lose your house due to fraud on the mortgage.

14. They can post embarrassing things on your social media post.

What to do if you are a victim of identity theft?

Identity thefts are getting common. However, it is important to identify an attack at the earliest and take necessary precautions.

1. Inform your cyber security insurance provider about identity theft. They will guide you through the next steps to follow.

2. Reach out to your bank and credit card company to freeze any fraudulent activities in your account.

3. Make sure that you go through your credit score in detail. This is to ensure that there aren’t any fraudulent transactions.

4. Reach out to the cyber crime department or local police to file a complaint about identity theft.

5. Get a replacement copy of any IDs that were stolen, such as driver’s licence, passport, etc. and store them securely.

6. Make sure that you update the password for most of your important online accounts.

Need for a cyber insurance policy

Identity protection is just one aspect of cybercrime. Since there are a lot of possibilities of things going wrong, it is important to stay vigilant. One of the smartest ways to tackle such situations is to opt for a cyber insurance policy.

The presence of cyber security insurance can offer you protection against a slew of cybercrimes such as cyberstalking, extortion, privacy breach, phishing attacks, email spoofing, malware attacks and so on. Choosing cyber insurance for family is one of the easiest ways to keep everyone safe from these cybercrimes.

Since children and parents might not be as vigilant, cyber insurance for family is much needed in current times. Even though cyber security insurance is still in its early stages, companies offer a considerable amount of coverage for the premiums that they charge.

Conclusion

Identity theft should not be taken lightly. Staying vigilant and securing yourself with a cyber insurance policy are two simple ways of protecting yourself.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

 

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