Keeping your information and data safe can seem like a challenging task, but with the right approach and techniques, you can be smarter than identity thieves!
It’s sadly all too simple for identity thieves and fraudsters to gain access to your personal information such as ID number, address, contact details and similar. If you conduct activities online, place any adverts or interact with online services, you could be unwittingly giving your information over to unscrupulous individuals who can and will use it for fraudulent activities. Low-tech hacks such as these happen every day, and if you think it won’t happen to you, think again!
We see breaking news headlines on a regular basis detailing the intricate hacking skills of professionals who have breached data of large corporations. Yet we don’t often see the stories of low-tech hacks, where every day people have their information taken from them and have suffered all manner of complications thereafter. Low-level thieves use simpler methods of retrieving the information that they need from you. They use lies, ingenuity and con games!
Below are a few ways in which your personal information can be stolen or retrieved for identity theft:
- Criminals might go through your rubbish, go through your personal files or steal your wallet to obtain your medical aid information or open credit cards in your name.
- Online criminals can retrieve personal information about your from your Facebook profile, online activities, any personal data that you post to the internet.
- Criminals might even pose as another legitimate person in order to gather all the information that they need. Be wary of emails and phone calls from banks, credit card providers or even responding to real estate adverts online. Always ensure and check that you are in fact speaking to whom you think you are speaking to.
Here are a few tips to ensure that you limit your risk of being a victim to these low-tech hacks:
- Always shred or tear up any paperwork with your personal information and data on it.
- Don’t keep personal or sensitive information stored on your computers or in filing cabinets. Cloud backup services are a great way to ensure that your data is encrypted and kept safe from prying eyes.
- For online accounts and profiles, always use passwords that are not easy to guess. The importance of a password is often over looked. Avoid using security questions for password retrievals that other’s might guess.
- If you suspect that you are communicating with someone posing as another individual, run their image through Google images search to confirm their legitimacy. Click on the user’s image and drag and drop it into the Google images search field. This will show you if the image has been used in other profiles and what details that image is linked to.
At Soteria Cloud we are dedicated to helping our clients protect their personal information and avoiding fraudulent activities being carried out using your personal details. We encourage you to do regular cloud backups and to ensure that none of your personal information and data is kept in hard copy where it is easily accessible. Learn more about data backups and stepping up your personal security by contacting us at Soteria Cloud today.