{"id":121,"date":"2020-11-23T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realtrends.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/23\/10-ways-hackers-can-steal-your-personal-identity-and-how-to-prevent-it\/"},"modified":"2025-03-13T01:59:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T01:59:15","slug":"10-ways-hackers-can-steal-your-personal-identity-and-how-to-prevent-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realtrends.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/23\/10-ways-hackers-can-steal-your-personal-identity-and-how-to-prevent-it\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Ways Hackers Can Steal Your Personal Identity and How to Prevent It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consumers are often asked to share valuable personal data in order to receive goods and services, and these exchanges increasingly occur online. This puts them at increased risk for online identity theft\u2014a threat that is only growing across global economies. But even classic, \u201coffline\u201d versions of identity theft remain a prevalent issue.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

According to the US government, \u201cIdentity (ID) theft happens when someone steals your personal information to commit fraud.<\/strong><\/a>\u201d ID fraud itself can take several forms\u2014use of credit card information to acquire products and services, for example, or even to receive medical treatment. These opportunities make anyone\u2019s identity valuable to criminals; Stealing someone\u2019s identity becomes a \u201cfree ticket\u201d for any number of fraudulent activities.<\/p>\n

Fraudsters can use multiple types of personal identification for nefarious purposes. Passports, driver\u2019s licenses, passwords, and of course credit cards or bank account information can all be exploited for criminal behavior, putting individual consumers at risk. No matter who you are, your personal information has value to criminals.<\/p>\n

ID theft and fraud are growing at frightening rates as well. A June 2020 analysis found an 18% increase in instances of identity fraud in the UK in 2019<\/strong><\/a> when compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s up to each of us to learn what are the most common types of identity fraud, for we as individuals are most often the last line of defense. In fact, several forms of ID theft depend on voluntary behaviors on the part of the victim. Here we take a closer look at what methods criminals use to hack into people\u2019s data in order to steal their IDs.<\/p>\n

The Israeli company Natural Intelligence<\/a>, which created detailed “best of” and “top 10<\/a>” lists built a detailed list of the 10 most common methods hackers and crooks use to steal identities, and what you can do to prevent it from happening to you:<\/p>\n

Just as the ways we use our personal information to acquire goods and services have evolved, so have criminals\u2019 methods for exploiting them. Here we review ten of the most common types of ID theft, starting with four types of \u2018\u201dphishing<\/strong><\/a>\u201d schemes: pharming, vishing, search engine phishing, and SMiShing.<\/p>\n

Pharming<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> Pharming is a method of ID theft that uses falsified websites to capture personal information. Hackers will lead you to believe that websites serve a recognizable and legitimate capacity\u2014a website made to look like an official government website, for example\u2014to trick you into sharing their personal information.<\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> You should check the legitimacy of any website before sharing consumer information. A simple Google search will often tell you if a website is fake. Certain \u201cgiveaways\u201d like misspellings, incorrect logos, strange URLs, and suspicious requests on the website can suggest something is wrong as well.<\/p>\n

Vishing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> Vishing, or \u201cvoice fishing,\u201d is conducted via phone calls. Thieves often automate phone calls that trick consumers into thinking there is an urgent need for them to share personal information over the phone. The crooks may impersonate government agencies or financial institutions, for example, then request personal information like social security numbers or bank account information.<\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> Avoid providing personal information over the phone in any context. Only do so if the phone call has been facilitated by legitimate means. This most often means you instigated the call yourself with a trustworthy entity.<\/p>\n

SMiShing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> This name is based on the abbreviation \u201cSMS\u201d for \u201cShort Message Service,\u201d the common functionality behind everyday text messages. SMiShing is when criminals send text messages encouraging consumers to share personal information. Bad actors often pose as legitimate institutions, and can be difficult to trace.<\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> You should never under any circumstances share personal information via SMS. Most legitimate companies will rarely ask for personal information using SMS\u2014More often they provide information this way upon consumer requests, such as confirmation codes when logging into a legitimate account. <\/p>\n

Search Engine Phishing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> Search Engine Phishing resembles pharming since it involves the fraudulent use of websites. In this case, the websites do not impersonate legitimate ones; they are designed to make offers consumers \u201ccan\u2019t refuse,\u201d such as unrealistically affordable goods or services.<\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> If you encounter a deal that seems \u201ctoo good to be true\u201d and don\u2019t recognize the retailer, it is likely a phishing attempt. Running a Google search like \u201cIs [website] legitimate?\u201d and reading several of the results is a good rule of thumb to identify these websites for what they are.<\/p>\n

Man-in-the-Middle Attack<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> Man-in-the-middle attacks also involve fraudulent websites, but they are even more nefarious. These attacks actually reroute consumers looking to visit legitimate websites to identical, illegitimate ones.<\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> The simplest solution to this problem is checking the URL in your browser. Bad actors will create websites with similar URLs to mislead you. For example, if your bank is at www.mybank.com, the criminal may use mybank.co as the URL. Your browser\u2019s functions, such as its history or auto-populating functions, should give you some indication as to whether or not you are on the correct website as well.<\/p>\n

Dumpster Diving and Theft of Personal Objects<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> Theft of personal objects like driver\u2019s licenses, social security cards, and even garbage with personal information are still common risks. <\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> Avoid these crude forms of identity theft by securing valuable documents and shredding those you wish to throw away. You can cut up credit cards with scissors before discarding, for example, and keep social security cards in a secure location at home.<\/p>\n

Credit or Debit Card Theft<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> Although credit and debit cards are also \u201cpersonal objects,\u201d their information is often stolen online or via photography, as well as in person. Many of the methods described above are means for capturing credit or debit card information, but thieves can steal physical cards or photograph their numbers in public places as well.<\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> Fortunately, in addition to keeping this information secure, you can count on modern banks to take action and even return funds lost to credit or debit card theft. They can quickly change your account information rendering the stolen data useless as well. Be cautious, though, as thieves may steal personal information in addition to credit or debit card information when theft occurs.<\/p>\n

Skimming<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> Skimming is another means of capturing credit card information, though with greater technological sophistication. Skimming takes place when a card-reading machine transmits credit card information via nefarious means. Thieves may manipulate card-reading machines of otherwise legitimate merchants to do this.<\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> One easy way to protect against skimming is to ensure the merchants you visit in person are trustworthy. But you can also protect yourself by simply reviewing your transaction history and credit reports. Your bank will often flag suspicious activity which occurs when this information is stolen as well.<\/p>\n

Pretexting<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> Pretexting is a more involved form of ID theft, where criminals do research on individuals ahead of time to identify vulnerabilities. If you have a sick relative in the hospital, for example, a thief might claim to be a hospital representative calling on behalf of that family member and ask for personal information.<\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> Pretexting can throw you off because of the thieves\u2019 apparent \u201cinside knowledge,\u201d but these thieves will most often use one of the methods above to make their attempt. Avoid sharing personal information over the phone, via the mail, via SMS, and online unless you are certain about the recipients.<\/p>\n

Social Engineering <\/strong><\/p>\n

Hackers method:<\/strong> Social engineering, also known as \u201ca con,\u201d is a much more involved identity theft method often requiring several layers of deception to steal personal information. Social engineering often involves pretexting and one of methods for identity theft; they often involve more than one bad actor as well.<\/p>\n

Hack to avoid it:<\/strong> It can be especially difficult to identify a con. Simply keep in mind the context in which you shouldn\u2019t provide personal information\u2014unwarranted phone calls, individuals approaching you whom you do not know, or websites you cannot confirm are legitimate are examples. Cons require a lot of work and often require a big \u201cpayoff\u201d as a result. If you have anything of particularly high value that comes into focus, you might be a victim.<\/p>\n

Top10.com<\/a> offers hundreds of Top10 shortlists to help consumers make informed decisions and easily compare their purchasing options online. Trusted by millions, the team shortlists are enriched with editorial reviews and deep-dive, informational articles\u2014all with the goal of turning online purchasing decision into a breeze.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Consumers are often asked to share valuable personal data in order to receive goods and services, and these exchanges increasingly occur online. This puts them at increased risk for online identity theft\u2014a threat that is only growing across global economies. But even classic, \u201coffline\u201d versions of identity theft remain a prevalent issue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15353,"featured_media":4822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3255],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n10 Ways Hackers Can Steal Your Personal Identity and How to Prevent It<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Top 10 Ways Hackers Can Steal Your Personal Identity and How to Prevent Them from Doing So\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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