What pieces of personal information are most valuable to identity fraudsters?

Fraudsters need just three pieces of personal information to steal your identity, most of which can be found on your Facebook profile. All it takes is your name, date of birth and address for fraudsters to steal your identity and access your bank accounts, take out loans or take out mobile phones in your name.

What personal information can be used for identity theft?

Identity theft begins when someone takes your personally identifiable information such as your name, Social Security Number, date of birth, your mother's maiden name, and your address to use it, without your knowledge or permission, for their personal financial gain.

What are the three most common ways identity thieves obtain personal information?

What is the most common type of identity theft?

Financial identity theft.

This is the most common form of identity theft -- when someone uses another person's information for financial gain. For instance, a fraudster may use your bank account or credit card numbers to steal money or make purchases, or use your Social Security number to open a new credit card.

What is the most common method used to steal your identity?

The most common way an identity thief can acquire information from a person is from stealing their purse or wallet and an identity thief may take a person's personal information from the internet.

6 Ways Your Identity Can Be Stolen

What information do fraudsters need?

Your name, address and date of birth provide enough information to create another 'you'. An identity thief can use a number of methods to find out your personal information and will then use it to open bank accounts, take out credit cards and apply for state benefits in your name.

Can my identity be stolen with my name and date of birth?

Unfortunately, an ID fraudster can use your birthday as a piece of the puzzle to capture your identity and commit identity theft. Fraudsters need just three key bits of information to steal your identity and access your accounts, take out loans, credit cards, mobile phones in your name.

What are the five most common types of identity theft?

Can someone steal your identity with just your address?

Similar to your name, your physical address is almost impossible to protect. In fact, it's a matter of public record. Fortunately, there's not much an identity thief can do with just your address, even if he or she also knows your name.

How can I find out if someone opened a bank account in my name?

The best way to find out if someone has opened an account in your name is to pull your own credit reports to check. Note that you'll need to pull your credit reports from all three bureaus—Experian, Equifax and TransUnion—to check for fraud since each report may have different information and reporting.

How can you identify a scammer?

What do fraudsters search to find information about you spear phishing?

More sophisticated attacks, known as spear phishing, are personalized messages from scammers posing as people or institutions that you trust. They often collect identifiable information about you from social media or the compromised account of someone you know to make their messages more convincing.

What do fraudsters use social media to steal information?

Cybercriminals use social media to identify victims and steal their personal information. By posing as an online friend, a fraudster could trick you into sending money or sharing PII. By following your feed, a phisher could gather details for a highly targeted attack.

What information is most commonly stolen from social media?

How do hackers use personal information?

Using your personal information, hackers can apply for credit card accounts, government benefits and loans in your name. Identity theft can damage your credit and inflict harm that takes years to undo.

Where do cyber criminals get your information from?

Many online services require users to fill in personal details such as full name, home address and credit card number. Criminals steal this data from online accounts to commit identity theft, such as using the victim's credit card or taking loans in their name.

Which of the following types of information do fraudsters target using phishing emails?

In this type of ploy, fraudsters customize their attack emails with the target's name, position, company, work phone number, and other information to trick the recipient into believing that they have a connection with the sender.

What are the 3 types of spear phishing emails?

What are 4 types of phishing?

How do scammer know your name?

Spammers often release information-gathering programs called “bots” to collect the names and e-mail addresses of people who post to specific newsgroups. Bots can get this information from both recent and old posts.

What area codes should you not answer?

How can you tell a scammer online?

How can I find out if someone has a secret bank account?

If you are able to find evidence, the easiest process to find out more information is to simply show your spouse the evidence and ask about the account. Your spouse may have a reasonable explanation for the secret account. They could have opened the account many years ago and just forgot about it.

Can someone open a bank account in your name without you knowing?

This person may be the actual fraudster or someone the criminal has manipulated into acting as a front for the fraud. The accounts are then used to either launder money or commit future fraud. Criminals use stolen credentials and personal data to open accounts in the names of individuals without their knowledge.

What can someone do with your name phone number and address?