The term identity theft is no more a new threat to cyber users as its traces go back to decades now. In fact, people have been a victim of identity theft since ages in some form. The only thing that has been changes is today they encounter this problem from cybercriminals on online platforms. These cyber criminals not only cause serious monetary losses, but they also affect your personal and professional life. While there are numerous types of identity theft, here we have covered the major threats you should be aware of. We have also discussed how to protect yourself from these nefarious attempts.

The threat to your existing account: This is one of the most prevailed and easily identifiable identity thefts that users encounter more often. Here, cybercriminals attack your existing accounts and steal your valuable information for nefarious purposes. They may breach the security of your system and steal valuable details like social security number, credit card details, bank account information, insurance policy details and more. Here, you need to track your credit reports and bank account statement to identify these threats at first place.

New account identity theft: Under this kind of identity theft, cybercriminals try to access your personal details to make all new account in your name. You might have noticed this trend on social media platforms where cybercriminals make a fake account in your name and misuse it. There are also probabilities where cybercriminals manipulate your financial details to get a credit card and avail other financial services. In addition to that, insurance claim frauds are also well-known to everyone thus you should be extra careful about that.

Tax identity theft: Here, cybercriminals use your financial details to file a tax return in your name and later claim a refund. During the process, they may call or message you, asking for personal information. They may claim that they are calling from Internal Revenue Services (IRS) and ask for your details. Remember IRS never asks you for personal information phone, text or email. Thus, you should be careful about these people and their messages.

Other types of identity thefts: In addition to above-mentioned identity thefts, there are also numerous other such threats. It includes medical identity theft, employment identity theft, child identity theft, senior identity theft, criminal identity theft, synthetic identity theft, estate identity theft, driver’s license identity theft and more.

How to protect yourself from identity theft: While there are numerous ways you can protect yourself from identity theft here, we have discussed a few important ones.

Don’t click on unknown links: Cybercriminals send malicious links & attachments through email and text messages offering some big discounts or offers. While these offers remain fake, they also spread malware traces on your system. Thus, you shouldn’t click on suspicious links or open attachments from unknown senders.

Don’t use open network: This is another precautionary step where you should avoid sharing important information or even surfing on the Internet on open networks. Here, free Wi-Fi or open network may sound interesting, but it brings certain security issues to you. It is easy for cybercriminals to breach your system security with a small piece of malicious software on free & open Wi-Fi. Thus, you should always use a password-protected network with strong encryption for better security.

Use identity theft protection tools: Next best solution to keep yourself away from identity theft is to use identity theft protection tools. These tools work on smart algorithms to help you find and secure all identity traces on your system. One such tool is Advanced Identity Protector that works on powerful scan engines to find and move all your identity traces in a secure vault. You can use this tool to move all your identity traces in the encrypted secure vault. Here, no one can access your valuable information but you. During the process, it scans identity traces from email clients, documents & files, Windows Registry, and other places. Using this tool, you can keep your valuable information safe that includes social security numbers, bank account details, credit card credentials, passwords, email accounts and more.

Conclusion: With increasing digital footprints, users are more prone to cyber & identity theft threats than ever. Here, we have covered some important types of identity theft and how you can keep yourself secure from it. If you know more such ways, then feel free to comment below.

Summary: If you are on any of the online platforms be it social, personal or professional, you might have heard of identity theft. This burgeoning threat is causing serious harm to users around the world. Let’s discuss more it here.

Author Bio: – Chandra Shekhar Choudhary is working at Systweak Blogs, as an SEO analyst and technical Content Writer. His potential of writing is PC tips, Android and Mac tricks and he is anxious in writing other technical blogs. You can also find Chandra Shekhar on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Author Name – Chandra Shekhar Choudhary

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