Has My Identity Been Stolen? 7 Warning Signs of Identity Theft
Has My Identity Been Stolen? 7 Warning Signs of Identity Theft
Anyone can be a victim of Identity theft. Read What is Identity Theft. It’s never about how smart you are or how savvy. Scammers are always savvier. The best we can do is to remain aware and hyper vigilant.
Learn to recognise the warning signs now:
- Your Wallet is Lost or Stolen
Report lost or stolen ID cards immediately. Cancel all the credit cards in your wallet and have new debit cards reissued. Your driver’s licence is a goldmine of information that a scammer could use to impersonate you.
- New Loans or Credit Cards Taken Out in Your Name
You’d definitely remember if you had applied for a new credit card or loan. A sure sign of Identity Theft is receiving notification that a new line of credit or a loan has been taken out in your name, that you don’t recall authorising. Worse, you might never receive any notification at all and only get to know of this when the debt collectors come knocking or you fail a credit check when you actually apply for a new card or loan. The best way is to keep a close eye on your credit score via your local credit bureau. Any changes that you can’t trace back to your own action is a sign your Identity has been stolen. Immediately call the card company or loan service, freeze the lines of credit and dispute any transactions.
- Strange Transactions on Your Bank Statement
Review your bank statements monthly at the lest. Scan every transaction line by line, big or small and highlight anything that looks unfamiliar. These could be charges from an unfamiliar online store, or transfers you don’t recall making. If you notice anything suspicious, immediately contact your bank. The bank will advise you on next steps, perhaps changing your account access details.
- Odd Credit Card Charges
If your card provider provides notification services, perhaps you’ve received notification of a transaction you did not perform. Otherwise, ensure that you regularly check your credit card statements line-by-line and verify every transaction. If your card details have been stolen, a scammer will first test to see if the card is active by performing small transactions , a few dollars here or there. The moment you spot a suspicious transaction, call the number at the back of your card immediately. Your card issuer can help block any further transactions from happening. And subscribe to those transaction notifications.
- An Account Doesn’t Look Quite the Same when you Login
These days, links that look legit could lead you to fake or imposter websites. These are known as ‘phishing’ links. Avoid clicking on unverified links in messages and emails. If you do, check everything on the page before logging in , from the URL, to the text to the images. It could be something strange looking with the name, a typo, weird layout on the website, maybe the colours are off, or the spelling seems iffy. to the logo to the grammar and spelling at the very bottom of the page. Don’t be duped into logging in to a fake site setup to steal your username and password. If you’re unsure about a link e.g. that supposedly comes from your bank, type the banking sites address directly into your search bar, and follow the links on the bank’s official website or app. Ensure that you have setup multi factor authentication on all your important accounts.
- Identity Verification Messages for Accounts You Don't Know
If you’ve received verification texts or emails for an account you didn’t set up, it means a hacker is using your email to open new accounts. Never click on any links or verify any accounts that you didn’t create.If you do receive notification or verification messages for new accounts, immediately change the password on your email account, enable MFA, and monitor it for any other suspicious alerts.
- Notifications from Your Email or Social Media Accounts about Logins You Didn’t Perform
“Someone is attempting to login to your account.” When you see a message like that, but you yourself haven’t tried to login to an account, that means someone is trying to access your account using your email by brute forcing it, aka, trying out different passwords to see what sticks. Keep unwanted users out of your accounts by ensuring you use strong passwords, have set up MFA and always keep an eye out for suspicious activity in your accounts.
I Can’t be Alert All The Time!
Use Siren’s Vulnerability Check to See If Your ID had been Compromised (Link tohaveibeenpwned API)
Here’s where a personal cybersecurity solution like Siren comes in. Siren will constantly monitor for and block any suspicious activity on your personal device that could result in Identity Theft. Siren blocks and alerts you to potential social engineering scams that target you via phishing calls, messages, emails and apps, with the added protection of the Siren Guarantee in case you do fall victim. Visit SirenID.com for details.
