If you\u2019re looking for some scary reading, forget about Stephen King and Clive Barker. The modern way to lose sleep is to look at the statistics on identity theft, or the appalling number of data breaches that take place in any given year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether you\u2019re actually losing sleep over the possibility or simply view it with well-founded unease, knowing how to check for identity theft is a fundamental modern survival skill. Here\u2019s what you need to know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Truthfully, if you aren\u2019t worried about identity theft you just haven\u2019t been paying attention. Security firm Varonis<\/a> tallied a total of 3,950 confirmed data breaches in 2020 (that\u2019s more than 10 every day!), at an average cost of $3.86 million to the affected companies; and more than half of those involved the loss of user data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over 90 percent of US health care organizations<\/a> have reported at least one data breach over the past three years. Facebook and Twitter have been breached to the tune of hundreds of millions of users\u2019 data, and Yahoo still holds the dubious distinction of suffering the largest breach ever at over 3 billion accounts compromised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to statistics compiled by the FTC<\/a>, consumers filed almost 2.2 million fraud reports in 2020, totaling $3.3 billion in losses (a massive leap from $1.8 billion in 2019). Of those nearly 2.2 million reports, identity theft was the most common category. Young consumers were more likely to lose money to scammers, but older consumers were likely to lose more<\/em> money. So it\u2019s helpful to know the telltale signs of identity theft<\/a>, and how to check for them (lest you contribute to next year\u2019s total). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Identity theft can occur in any number of ways, from those massive data breaches to low-tech theft from your mailbox which affects just you. You might fall victim to a shoulder-surfer<\/a>, a phishing email<\/a> or a phone scam<\/a>. No matter how it happens (and the possibilities, sadly, are endless), there will be a number of signs that can alert you to a potential problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are some of the best ways to detect them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, it doesn\u2019t get any more old-school than this. Whether you get your statements digitally or in dead-tree form, take the time each month to really read them, not just take a passing glance. Purchases you didn\u2019t make, a second credit card you didn\u2019t apply for\u2026anything suspicious can be a red flag indicating identity theft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The non-arrival of mail you\u2019re expecting (bills, or statements from your insurers, bank, credit card company, cellular carrier\u2026) can be an indication that identity thieves have either hijacked your physical address<\/a> or gotten access to your accounts and changed the mailing address. If you don\u2019t see the statements, you can\u2019t challenge their bogus purchases, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most damaging aspects of identity theft occurs when scammers use your good name to apply for credit (or misuse your existing accounts). After running up the biggest possible tab, they skip out on the payments, leaving you holding the bag. Really brazen criminals might even challenge and overturn some of those purchases (they really are fraudulent, after all) and then max out the account again<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some unexpected collection notices are indeed outright scams, but a sudden spate of them might mean you\u2019ve been the victim of identity theft. Which leads us to the next step\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pulling your credit report<\/a> regularly is the best way to know when your credit is being subverted. Federal law requires the three main reporting agencies \u2014 TransUnion, Equifax and Experian \u2014 to provide you with a free report, on request, at least once each year. If you request them one at a time, that means getting a report every 4 months at no cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have reason to believe your identity has been compromised, pull an additional report right away, even if you\u2019re out of free ones (the cost is minimal compared to the pain it can help prevent). <\/p>\n\n\n\n GET CREDIT REPORT MONITORING WITH SPOKEO PROTECT<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n With data breaches releasing hundreds of millions of peoples\u2019 information into the wild each year, it\u2019s important to know when you\u2019re affected. One way to do that is by setting up a Google Alert<\/a> for the phrase \u201cdata breach,\u201d along with other keywords such as \u201cuser data.\u201d The site search on your favorite news site is another good source: just type in \u201cdata breach\u201d or \u201cstolen data\u201d and see what you get. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Periodically \u2014 the first weekend of every month, or whatever schedule makes sense for you \u2014 pay a visit to Spokeo\u2019s people search tools<\/a> and enter in your own name, address, email and phone number. Normally the search results will either be clearly you or clearly someone else (someone with the same name, or perhaps the previous person who had your number). If you find your name and other identification connected with public social email profiles that aren\u2019t yours, that\u2019s a very large red flag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most frightening statistics compiled by Varonis is that on average, it took 228 days for breaches to be identified and another 80 days for them to be contained. That\u2019s about 10 months, which is a long time for criminals to have free use of your information. One way to \u201cbreak the circuit\u201d and get an early warning that you\u2019ve been compromised is through dark-web monitoring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The dark web is a secretive corner of the internet, occupied by dissidents, hackers and (inevitably) criminals. That\u2019s where stolen personal ID is bought and sold, so if you detect it at this stage \u2014 before it\u2019s used \u2014 you may have a reasonable likelihood of limiting the damage. 24\/7 dark-web monitoring is a core feature of Spokeo\u2019s new identity theft protection product \u2014 Spokeo Protect<\/a>. It\u2019s a pretty priceless form of peace of mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Identity theft brings a lot of (mostly unpleasant) repercussions, so if you find that your information has been compromised, the road to recovery<\/a> can be a long one. That\u2019s a whole other topic in itself, but your first step should be to visit the FTC\u2019s IdentityTheft.gov<\/a> site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can report your case there, and also get a personalized recovery plan laying out the next steps to take (contacting your bank and creditors, placing a credit freeze<\/a> or extended fraud alert with the credit agencies, and so on). At a minimum, you should probably also report your case to the FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s almost impossible to avoid the risk of identity theft completely. The good news is that the sooner you notice and report it, the less damaging it can be (and the less costly, and time-consuming, to fix). Knowing how to check for identity theft, and following those steps diligently, can save you a world of hurt \u2014 and it\u2019s something that\u2019s within your control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re looking for some scary reading, forget about Stephen King and Clive Barker. The modern way to lose sleep is to look at the statistics on identity theft, or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":25256,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[810],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-identity"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Check for Identity Theft<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Review Your Statements Diligently<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Monitor Your Mail<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Don\u2019t (Necessarily) Ignore \u201cBogus\u201d Collection Notices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Pull Your Credit Reports Regularly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Watch for Data Breaches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
6. Search Yourself (Not in the Philosophical Sense)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
7. Use Dark-Web Monitoring<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What to Do Next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sources<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n