The main goals of identity thieves are to steal money from the victim's bank accounts, open new lines of credit and obtain loans in the victim's name, receive government benefits, rent apartments, and even provide medical services using the victim's identity and insurance information. Some common methods used by identity thieves include: Steal wallets, purses, mail, or rummage through trash to find personal documents Review credit/debit card numbers when processing payments Phishing scams to expose login details to trick people Hacking into corporate databases to access customer records Using malware to steal keystrokes and login information Once they have enough personal information, thieves can impersonate the victim to open new credit accounts, get loans, get benefits, cheat on taxes, or make large purchases — all linked to the victim's true identity.
Identity theft causes huge financial losses, affects credit ratings, and creates huge challenges for victims as they try to recover compromised identities and deal with the consequences. Protecting personal information and monitoring the signs of identity theft are critical in today's digital age. Identity Fraud Statistics Identity fraud is a growing problem that
Kazakhstan Phone Number List businesses and consumers billions each year. According to reports, identity thieves will have stolen more than $43 billion in 2023 alone. No company wants their customers' personal information ( Pii ), such as names, emails, passwords and financial information, to fall into the wrong hands. However, major breaches and leaks occur regularly, often due to preventable security breaches.
Three important examples illustrate the damage that identity fraud can cause: Equifax breach : In 2017, about 150 million Americans had sensitive personal information such as names, dates of birth, social security numbers and addresses. Yahoo Breach: all 3 billion Yahoo user accounts were hacked and names, emails, passwords and security questions were stolen. Target breach: In 2013, 41 million customers received encrypted PINs after hackers broke into merchant payment systems. Identity fraud tactics Criminals use a variety of stealthy methods to steal PII, including: Phishing: Sending legitimate-looking e-mails to trick people into entering login credentials on fake sites. Vulnerability: Infecting computers and mobile devices with code that injects keystrokes or screenshots.