How Do Identity Thieves Steal Personal Data?
Identity thieves are coming up with increasingly sophisticated methods by which to steal personal information for fraudulent use, but in reality sometimes the most simple methods are the most effective and these include:
• Telephone, postal and email scams – the easiest way for thieves to steal your data is to trick you into revealing it yourself, by exposing you to a number of different scams either by telephone, email or the postal system. It is very important that you never give out sensitive personal and financial details unless you are absolutely sure it is a genuine request, and remember your bank or credit card provider would never ask you for your give out your private log in or account details over the phone or by email.
• Business Record Theft – your personal details may be held with a number of businesses, such as your credit card number when you pay for goods or services, and thieves can target business databases and steal thousands of customer details in one hit. They can do this by hacking into the business computer records or by bribing an employee to pass certain important information along to them.
• Shoulder Surfing – this simple scam involves standing behind someone at the checkout, ATM queue or shared public internet access (cafes, libraries etc) and memorising the private pins and passwords as they input them. They can also listen in if you are paying for something over the phone in a public place and have to read out your credit details to the cashier.
• Rubbish – a huge percentage of people throw away important documents in the rubbish without shredding them, and this gives thieves the opportunity to pick up vital information from the trash such as bank statements and credit card, cell phone and utility bills. You should always shred anything containing your personal data, even if it is just your address and name before putting it in the trash.
• Stealing Wallets and purses – this age old method is an easy way for thieves to get hold of your credit cards, debit cards and other key pieces of personal data, so if you find your have lost your wallet or had it stolen make sure you cancel your plastic cards immediately.