Identity threat has become a major threat, travel finance company Upgraded Points revealed on Monday, citing data showing that reports of identity theft increased by over 113 percent between 2019 and 2020 and remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.
While identity theft reports have steadily risen by about 200 percent in the past decade, there was a considerable spike during the COVID-19 pandemic as cybercriminals sought to take advantage of increased online transactions and the U.S. government’s COVID relief efforts.
“With more and more interactions taking place online, fraudsters have found a seemingly infinite number of ways to hack individuals’ personal data, as well as breach entire companies’ security systems,” Upgraded Points said.
In April, Privacy Affairs released a report revealing that cybercriminals can buy a range of data to commit identity theft for only $1,000 on the dark web.
Upgraded Points based its findings on data from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Census Bureau.
New Account Fraud Tops Other Identity Theft-Related Crimes
Identity theft-related crimes have generally increased over the past three years. However, new account fraud saw the highest increase — at 307 percent. Government benefit fraud also increased by about 250 percent.
New account fraud generally involves scammers using stolen or fake documents to open a bank account with the intent to commit fraud. “The criminal may open it directly or through another person, often with the intent to defraud someone of their money or to launder illicit funds,” Alex Miller, the CEO of Upgraded Points, said in an email to VPNOverview.
With banks now allowing customers to open accounts online, it’s easier than ever for criminals to commit new account fraud. Often, victims only discover their identities have been used to commit a crime when faced with a huge debt.
On Monday, Georgia’s WSB-TV revealed that debt collectors are taking victims to court over money borrowed using their stolen identities. Since 2019, there have been about 200,000 complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from victims.
Upgraded Point’s report also revealed that identity theft is more prevalent in certain states. Miami, Atlanta, and Houston recorded the highest number of identity theft reports in the country.
Protecting Yourself From Identity Fraud
Scammers are on the prowl for potential victims. The best way to protect yourself from identity fraud is to understand how criminals can steal your data. Our guide to identity theft contains useful security tips on protecting your personal data online.
“Technologies like multi-factor authentication, data encryption, and biometric authentication all make it difficult for fraudsters to obtain your private data, but ultimately, technologies used in identity theft will evolve as well,” Miller noted. “The future of identity theft protection needs to rely more on authenticating you as an individual human being, rather than simply what information you know—like a Social Security Number and the name of your first pet.”
We recommend scanning your credit reports regularly with an eye out for unusual transactions. Also, consider signing up for an identity theft monitoring service like LifeLock to notify you if your data is stolen and used for fraudulent transactions online.
