How to Prevent Identity Theft
We live in a modern world where we have a variety of threats available, and one of them is Identity Theft. In this method, scammers steal your online identity and use it for various unlawful activities, which may land you in real trouble. If you don’t want it to happen to you or a loved one and want to prevent it, we can help. In this Usenet.com guide, you will learn what identity theft is, its types and how you can prevent it in 2023. Let’s get started.
What is Identity Theft?
Let’s start with the introduction of Identity Theft. Identity Theft is a practice where another person takes over your identity using your personal information such as your name, social security number, and email address. They use your identity to take loans, credit, and often scams which can lead you to serious trouble.
How does Identity Theft happen?
Identity Theft is a major threat these days, and if you want to prevent it, it’s important that you know how it happens. In this section, we will share some major ways which are used for Identity Theft.
Unsecured Browsing
One of the most common ways which scammers use to get hold of your personal information is unsecured browsing. Public Spots with free Wi-Fi are the favorite spots for scammers because they track the traffic from these spots and get the private information of the users. So, if you use public Wi-Fi, it’s important that you use a secure VPN that will encrypt your traffic, making it impossible for anyone to snoop into your private information.
Data Breaches
Data Breaches are another common way scammers use to get hold of your private data. These breaches occur on companies’ end, and there’s not a lot you can do but what you can do is never provide your personal data to unknown apps and websites. Hackers mostly target small apps and websites because they are often more vulnerable than big companies, and they can easily hack their servers.
Also, use the dark web monitoring services, which can alert you if your private data is found on the Dark Web, and you can quickly use this information to take measures to protect your account. NordVPN comes with a Dark Web Monitoring service which is available for all NordVPN users.
Phishing
phishing is another very popular method that is often used to get people’s personal data. In this method, the scammers will trick you into submitting your private data on a fake website. For example, if you want to shop through Amazon.com, they will send the link to a website with a similar name, such as Aamazon.com. As you can see, both websites have an almost similar address, but the second one has an extra “a,” which is often missed by most users. Once you submit your private data to the fake website, they will use it to steal your online identity.
How to Prevent Identity Theft
Social Media Profiles
Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are pretty popular, and scammers often use the information available on these platforms to steal the identities of the people.
How can you identify if someone is using your identity?
Identity theft is a serious issue, and honestly, there is no direct way to identify if your identity is stolen. However, there are signs which can indicate that if someone else is using your identity. In this section, we will share all the signs which you can use to determine if your identity is stolen.
Not Getting your mails
If you used to receive mails in the past at your address, but suddenly you have stopped receiving them, it’s a sign that someone else is using your identity. You can contact your nearest post office and check if someone else is receiving your mails in your name.
Unusual Bank Transactions
If scammers have access to your debit card details, they can use it to make online transactions. So, if you notice any unusual transactions in your bank account, make sure that you immediately contact your bank and report it. Also, make sure that you temporarily block your debit and credit cards to avoid any financial damage.
Denied Credit
If you are someone with a good credit score and suddenly you have been denied credit, it’s a sign that someone is using your identity and taking loans on your name. If you notice it, report it to authorities so that they help you.
How to Prevent Identity Theft in 2023
Identity Theft is not something that you can’t avoid. There are ways that you can use to protect yourself from identity theft. In this section, we will share practices and ways that can help you avoid identity theft.
Use Strong Passwords
A strong password is your best friend in the digital world because if you have a strong password, scammers won’t be able to hack your account and use it for unlawful activities. Make sure that you pick a strong password with at least 10 characters and use the combination of numbers and special characters to make it strong.
How to Prevent Identity Theft
Track your Bank Transactions
Download your banking app and make sure that you track your transactions to avoid any financial damage. Also, turn on email and SMS alerts for transactions which will allow you to know if any unauthorized transactions occur on your account.
Dark Web Monitoring
Use the Dark Web Monitoring Tools to detect data breaches and if you get the notification for a data breach, make sure that you change your password, username, and other details to protect yourself. We would also recommend that you keep multiple email accounts: one for personal use and the other for social media signups and other stuff. In this way, even if your email for social media accounts gets hacked, your personal email will stay safe.
Use a Good VPN
In a digital world, VPN is a solid tool that you can use to avoid many threats such as Identity Theft, Scamming, Tracking, and more. VPN will allow you to encrypt your traffic and route it through secure servers, which will make it impossible for anyone to track your online activities. Similarly, it will give the temporary IP Address to the websites you visit, and they won’t be able to use your IP Address to track your online activities and interactions.
The Best VPNs to Prevent Identity Theft
There are a lot of good VPNs available out there, and we have handpicked the best VPNs which you can use to protect your online activities and ultimately protect your identity.
NordVPN
NordVPN is our #1 most recommended VPN because it comes with dedicated tools which you can use to avoid Identity Theft. For starters, the Dark Web Monitoring tool is a solid tool that you can use to detect any data breaches and change your passwords and other details to avoid Identity Theft. Also, it comes with tons of privacy and security features that protect you online and make the browsing experience safe. You can check NordVPN Review on our website.
How to Prevent Identity Theft
PureVPN
PureVPN is another very popular VPN which you can use to protect your online activities. You can use it in Public Spaces without worrying about being tracked because it will encrypt your data with the strongest encryption, which would make it impossible for scammers to get hold of your private information. You can check PureVPN Review on our website.
How to Prevent Identity Theft
Conclusion
Identity Theft is surely a big problem, but you can easily avoid it with good security practices and a secure VPN. We hope that you find this guide useful, and if you have any questions, you can check our VPN FAQ section, where we have answered the common questions for you.