‘You’re not that sexy’ and other advice on identity theft

There really aren’t that many women in Eastern Europe that want to meet you.

About 13.1 million Americans were victims of identity theft last year, a 2016 Identity Fraud Study found.

That’s the equivalent of every person in Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon having their identities stolen.

So what can you do to protect yourself?

Beware of Phishermen

No, the spelling is not a typo. Phishing is the attempt to gain someone’s personal information by posing as a legitimate company or entity.

Protect yourself from phishing with these steps.

First, check whom the email is from. If you don’t recognize an email address that should be a red flag it might be a scam. If an email says it’s coming from a certain company, the sender’s email address should come from a legitimate company URL.

Stop clicking on sketchy emails. This should be a no brainer, but let’s elaborate.

Robert Herjavec, star of the hit show “Shark Tank” and CEO of cybersecurity company Herjavec Group says, “When we teach our customers, we say, ‘You can’t really win something you haven’t entered.’ And ‘There really aren’t that many women in Eastern Europe that want to meet you.’ And ‘You’re really not that sexy.’ You know, it’s a cute way to point that out because people still do click on it. But those kinds of attacks – phishing attacks — are becoming much more targeted.”

So what does he mean by “much more targeted”?

Phishing emails are moving away from pornographic solicitations and lottery prize-winning schemes to pretending to be legitimate businesses. They do this by using things like tracking numbers for online orders or bank account alerts to trick you into clicking.

One of the ways fraudsters make these emails look more legitimate is by actually using your information.

Check Your Credit Score

The fraud scene is changing. Where once identity thieves were easily able to steal a credit card number and make a fake card, it is becoming increasingly difficult to do.

According to Credit.com, “Chip credit cards, also known as EMV cards, make creation of counterfeit credit cards nearly impossible for identity criminals. With the much-anticipated U.S. shift to EMV well underway, fraudsters are transitioning along with consumers … this drove a 113 percent increase in incidents of new account fraud, which now accounts for 20 percent of all fraud losses.”

So the new trend is when thieves get your information, they will try to make accounts in your name. Although it is difficult to stop this from happening once someone has your information, checking your credit report is an easy way to catch and stop it early on.

Most credit card companies send a monthly credit report with your statement, but the Federal Trade Commission’s website states you are entitled to one free credit report each year.
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Check for lines of credit you did not open or unsolicited inquiries into your credit. If you see one, contact credit agencies and your bank immediately to place fraud alerts on your accounts.

Shop Online Using Credit Cards

When paying with debit cards or other account transfers you can face losses of $50 up to the entire amount stolen.

First off, make sure you are buying from a reputable online seller. Once you have established the site’s credibility, then you can proceed to purchasing.

Under federal law, if a hacker gets hold of your card number, as would be the case in online identity theft, you are not liable for unauthorized purchases.

When paying with debit cards or other account transfers you can face losses of $50 up to the entire amount stolen.

So opt to pay with a credit card. Most credit cards offer protections for their cardholders when facing issues with identity theft in addition to the federal protections.

Taking a few extra precautions can save a lot of headache down the road and keep your information safe.

For extra tips on protecting yourself online, read part 1 of Safelink Internet’s safety series, 3 ways you can safeguard social media accounts.