ID frauds and thefts are on the rise. Despite effective technologies and robust security measures, the identity thieves seem to find new and creative ways to steal personal information of other people. The victim’s identity is used to open a new account or take over his other accounts for airlines, hotels, or insurance policies.
According to Federal Trade Commission, there is a 45% increase in identity thefts and forgeries, amounting to more than three billion of financial losses. Further, during the pandemic, one finds a huge increase in the incidents of ID frauds and unemployment identity thefts as the sector of unemployed was an attractive target for fraudsters.
Today, identity theft has become a leading fraud category and accounts for about thirty percent of fraud incidents. The past few years have seen application frauds and account takeovers among the victims of ID frauds. Thus, it has become all the more important for you to secure identity theft protection to safeguard your personal information and identity. At the same time, one must stay alert and know how to identify an ID fraud. Browse around this site to get more information on the topic.
The sooner you detect a fraud, the easier it become to control the damage and lower the financial impact. Given below are a few suggestions on how to locate the warning signs of identity theft and discover fraudulent activity.
- If any unexpected bills or statements start arriving by mail or any checks that are out of order on your bank statement.
- If you receive any credit cards without applying for them, it is a sign of possible ID fraud. Any unreasonable denial of credit is another major sign.
- If your bank and financial institutions freeze your accounts unexpectedly, it is perhaps because of a fraudulent activity.
- If some debt collectors start calling t you about certain products or merchandise you didn’t buy.
- If you get notifications about changes regarding address, password or information, take that as a warning sign and act immediately.
- If there are sudden viruses in your computer, it is probably because someone is trying to access sensitive online accounts.
Well, you need to be more careful as you work or operate within the virtual world, where it is becoming easier to steal sensitive data.
To prevent identity thefts and frauds, you can rake certain steps.
- Regular monitoring and checking can prevent ID frauds and track any document misuse. So, get into the habit of monitoring your online accounts frequently and look for signs of any unusual activity. Contact the lender right away if your find anything suspicious.
- Set up alerts with the help of update technology and alert services. The debit or credit cards issuers will notify you of any transactions and keep you informed in case of any unusually high transactions or fraudulent spending.
- Watch out for scams regarding wire transfer email and do not make any transfers even if everything appears legitimate. Be very cautious when making any financials transactions online.
Keep your sensitive identification information safe from any unauthorized access and you need to be more careful.