HOW FRAUDSTERS STEAL IDENTITIES
While identity fraud primarily targets credit cards and bank accounts, it also involves the Internet retail and loan sectors. Fraudsters use texts and emails, and telephone calls to get personal information from you and access your devices.
Those using texts and emails, known as ‘phishing’, send credible messages from a bank or credit card company with a web link or attachment. They may also use software to hack your computer to access personal information. Fraudsters also use details from social media, such as date of birth, address and pet’s names, to calculate passwords.
More recently, they are using trends, such as the cost of living crisis, to take advantage of the circumstances by posing as energy or network companies offering a ‘better’ deal or supermarkets giving away money-off vouchers.