Identity Protection Account
Secure your data with a Cyber Security Service Plan (CSS Plan)
Common Forms of Identity Theft
Financial Identity Theft
Social Security Identity Theft
Social Security Identity Theft
Occurs when cyber criminals seek to exploit your personal information for financial gain.
Financial identity thieves often may target your Social Security number, credit card number, and bank account number to open new accounts, make purchases, or transfer money.
Social Security Identity Theft
Social Security Identity Theft
Social Security Identity Theft
Involves the unauthorized acquisition and misuse of your Social Security number (SSN). Your SSN is a unique identifier for various financial and governmental transactions.
In the hands of identity thieves, it can open the door to fraudulently creating false identities, applying for credit, gaining unauthorized access to financial accounts, or even securing employment under your name.
Medical Identity Theft
Identity thieves also often seek to exploit your medical information. This can have heavy repercussions on your health, finances, and medical records.
Identity thieves can use your personal details, such as name, insurance information, and SSN, to obtain medical services and prescription medications or file false insurance claims.
This not only jeopardizes your financial well-being but can also present threats to your health as identity thieves can change the information on your records, putting you at risk of receiving improper medical treatment.
Common Identity Theft Tactics
Phishing Scams
Phishing Scams
Phishing Scams
This scam includes fraudulent activity that uses email, text messages, or phone calls to trick people into revealing personal information.
Phishers often pose as legitimate organizations, such as banks or credit card providers, with an urgent request that involves submitting information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or SSNs.
Data Breaches
Phishing Scams
Phishing Scams
These are incidents where sensitive, protected, or private data is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen, or used without proper authorization.
A data breach can involve financial information, medical information, SSN, and more.
Skimming Devices
This fraud includes small electronic devices that attach to card scanners and are designed to steal credit card information. When you swipe your card through a skimmer, it captures the magnetic stripe data from your card. This data can then be used to create counterfeit cards or to make fraudulent purchases online.
Credit may seem complicated, but the methods for maintaining a good credit score are pretty straightforward. Generally, if you manage your finances effectively, pay your bills on time and avoid taking on too much debt, your credit scores should be in good shape.
But that doesn’t mean you can just ignore your credit if you follow these practices. It’s important to pay attention to the information in your credit report to ensure that it’s fair, accurate and contributes positively to your credit score as much as possible.
While you can try to keep a watchful eye on your credit report yourself, signing up for a credit report monitoring service makes it much easier.
Here’s how credit report monitoring can help your credit score.