Identity theft is a serious problem.
This will help show the broad picture of how identity theft is impacting our lives on a global scale.
What Is Identity Theft?
The impersonation of Martin Guerre is the first identity theft crime on record.
Tilh returned after Guerre left town, and Tilh convinced friends and family that he was Guerre.
This was right around the time when phone scams started to become common.
Failing to take basic cybersecurity precautions when surfing the web can turn consumers into prime targets for identity thieves.
Online identity theft generally refers to the unauthorized use of a victims PII to commit fraud online.
So, in theory, if your information was compromised, you should have been notified.
Phishers may contact victims via phone, SMS, email, or other messaging apps.
The rise of generative AI has also made phishing much easier.
This allows thieves to radically increase their pool of victims.
Is the situation getting better, or do new technologies help scammers reach more people than ever before?
This made victims more vulnerable, and scammers targeted them more aggressively.
However, Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation also make up a significant portion of reported identity theft cases.
They also usually have more savings than younger people, which increases the impact of ID theft.
In addition, they are often more isolated, which can protract the amount of time a scam lasts.
Thats a 72% increase from the previous years total of 1,801 cases.
But how exactly do data breaches relate to identity theft?
Stolen records obtained during data breaches are usually sold on the dark web.
#11: How Much Money Do Dark Web Vendors Make on Stolen PII?
The rates for some of the PII products sold on the dark web arent particularly high.
For instance, stolen credit card information can be purchased for as little as $10.
This is largely due to stolen cards needing to be used quickly.
Cardholders block them as soon as they notice suspicious activity.
The disparity between prices for credit cards or payment processor accounts is because of multiple factors.
For example, PayPal account details are among the most commonly found items on the Dark Web marketplaces.
That changed in 2023, when the Digital Personal Data Protection Act was formalized by the Indian government.
Western European countries were reportedly targeted the most.
Online channels, particularly those that store or use banking information, are prime targets for fraudsters.
These highly publicized instances have hopefully raised public awareness of the importance of protecting ones PII.
Unfortunately, even as awareness grows, bad actors seem to be winning the arms race.
Cummings pleaded guilty in 2004 and in 2005 was sentenced to 14 years.
The judge said the damage he caused was almost unimaginable.
The illegal enterprise raked in $3.3 million before being shut down.
Armstrong was found guilty on all 51 counts for which he was charged.
Armstrong was ordered to pay $3,305,609 in restitution as part of his sentencing.
In addition, two of his homes, purchased with illegal funds, were forfeited.
Before being busted in October 2011, the criminals had racked up $14 million in stolen money.
His wife and others pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
Once the PayPal accounts were opened, the thief would apply for linked credit accounts using the stolen identities.
In total, Gibson was able to steal up to $3.5 million before being caught.
Accounts for Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffet were among the 217 that he accessed.
He attempted to steal more than $22 million but was caught before all the illegal transactions occurred.
He is believed to have served 11 years in prison before being released.
He changed her social security number and address to his own so that he could receive new cards.
Suspicious, American Express reported Flores and his mother to the Secret Service.
The drive contained not only their personal details and social security numbers but also their credit card accounts.
In 2014, Flores was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison.
Today, criminals apply more sophisticated methods of scamming their victims and stealing their identities.
Most identity theft takes place online, and it doesnt look like thats going to change anytime soon.
In other scenarios, scammers use the victims account to attract brand deals.
The advent and proliferation of generative AI have enabled scammers to step up their game even further.
This usually happens on pages where you fill out forms, like when logging in or entering payment details.
These objects can connect to the internet or networks to share data with other devices and systems.
These devices are often low-cost and designed to collect and transmit data without much regard for data protection.
Scammers use deepfakes to obtain authorization for transactions or recover lost passwords of their victims.
Synthetic identity fraud, i.e.
combining fake and real ID information, allows criminals to open accounts and make purchases.
They use AI to create false identities or alter existing ones in highly convincing ways.
After all, mainstream news reports on AI advancements almost daily.
Just implementing a few basic cybersecurity practices can help protect your identity.
after criminals have already gotten hold of your funds and used some of them.
This is why acting quickly is incredibly important every day of delay carries the risk of losing more money.
Online safety is key to protecting yourself from identity theft.
How Should You React to Identity Theft?
The steps listed above prevent thieves from continuing to make purchases in your name.
It has since evolved to include many different, digital techniques of illegally obtaining peoples sensitive data.
The rise of generative AI carries the risk of exacerbating the problem.
Important:SafetyDetectives owns the content and visuals in this article.
