Identity Theft

^{Weekly Trivia}

^{Identity Theft}

Like most, I have kept my Facebook profile to not lose track of birthdays. Unfortunately, most profiles reveal several answers to common security questions.

Think about it…

Quick Facts & Stats

In today's digital jungle, protecting your identity is non-negotiable. From cyber hackers to phishing scams, threats have become an ordinary part of our day.

• 23.9 million people over 16 years old — 9% of US residents — had their identities stolen in 2021.

• Losses due to identity theft, on average, are $1,160 per person.

• 1 in 5 US adults have experienced identity theft at some point in their lives.

• Activity involving existing credit card and bank accounts comprised 54% of all identity theft cases in 2021.

Trivia Answer: 3.7 calls per day

Quick Tips

Fortunately, 86% of reported 2021 fraud cases resulted in full financial recovery, but required (on average) over 3.9 hours on the phone.

Let’s avoid that…

Freeze Your Credit

This is a no brainer.

This prevents anyone from opening credit cards or applying for loans in your name, which is a nightmare scenario.

Set Up Text Alerts For Transactions Beyond $100

This is especially important when you share access with a child or spouse.

Fortunately, 1 in 4 credit card or bank incidents are flagged by a financial institution, but it’s annoying to manage.

Hence why 97.2% of impacted victims take “serious measures” to prevent future occurences.

Scrub That Old Facebook Profile

Think about it… your first car, hometown, pets name, sibling or cousin name, favorite sports team, etc., is all on there.

Turn all social media accounts to private or consider deleting accounts where you’re not active.

Set Up Dual Authentication

It may require an additional 10 seconds to login, but it’s an added layer of protection.

Do your future self a favor and opt-in when it’s available.

Dive Deeper

There are plenty of other strategies and approaches, but all of them are methods of prevention. Check out my favorite guide by Business Insider.

My Key Takeaway

We live fast paced and busy lives. Don’t put fraudsters and scammers in a position to take advantage of it. Monitor your accounts or get someone to do it for you.

Thanks for reading, Habits fam. See you back here next week for more.

-JB

Got feedback? Hit reply and tell me what you think…I’m always looking to level up.