{"id":123811,"date":"2022-03-16T05:44:53","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T12:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"\/blogs\/?p=123811"},"modified":"2022-08-18T16:13:32","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T23:13:32","slug":"identity-protection-service-the-best-solution-to-a-growing-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/privacy-identity-protection\/identity-protection-service-the-best-solution-to-a-growing-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Identity Protection Service: The Best Solution to a Growing Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m about to tell you an extraordinary fact about cybercrime. Some of the most significant data breaches in internet history weren\u2019t after bank account numbers, cryptocurrency, or even credit card numbers. They were, in fact, after YOU. That\u2019s right, the most valuable data on the internet is the data that comprises your <\/span>identity. Let\u2019s take a look at what that data is, how it gets leveraged by cybercriminals, and how you can get the online identity monitoring you deserve.<\/p>\n

Identity exposure in the news\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

1 billion is a big number. In the case of a recent <\/span>CVS database leak,<\/span><\/a> that\u2019s how many user records were accidentally released online, including details like email addresses and even searches about Covid vaccines. This is just one of the dozens of breaches that have occurred recently and will continue to happen as personally, identifiable information becomes more valuable to cybercriminals. Just as remarkable as the huge volume of user data being exposed online is the speed with which compromised data is used by hackers online. Cybersecurity researchers recently <\/span>discovered<\/span><\/a> that cybercriminals access leaked or stolen credentials within 12 hours to exploit them as soon as possible. These circumstances beg the question, why has your personally identifiable information has become so valuable lately?\u00a0<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why your Personally Identifiable Information is worth so much to criminals online\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

While the value of some information, like a credit card number, is obvious, you may think your name and date of birth aren\u2019t that big of a deal. After all, it wasn\u2019t so long ago that you could find all that information in a phone book. In fact, personally identifiable <\/span>information<\/span><\/a> (PII), also known as data used to identify a specific individual, is what many <\/span>data breaches<\/span><\/a> are after.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Armed with just a mailing address, a phone number, and a date of birth, a cybercriminal can begin constructing a fake <\/span>identity to take out loans and disguise many kinds of criminal activities. With a social security number and a few personal details from a social media account, they could take over a bank account. When it comes to your PII, any information is as good as gold to cybercriminals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your PII may not be as safe as you think.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

If our PII were treated like actual gold and held in a safe location like Fort Knox, I wouldn\u2019t be writing this post. But in fact, it\u2019s the currency we use to obtain many services in our connected lives. Social media sites are massive repositories of PII, and their access to our most personal details and the ability to sell it to marketers is the reason the service remains free. Free email services are the same. Now consider all the other accounts we may have created to, say, try out a streaming service for free, or even old accounts we no longer use. From that perspective, you can see how much of your data is being used by companies, may not be very well protected, and is a tempting target for cybercriminals. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to keep your <\/a><\/span>identity safer online.<\/p>\n

Learn to spot a breach and to keep your identity safer<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

When it comes to protecting your PII, knowledge is power. Let\u2019s start by identifying if you\u2019ve been the target of a data breach. Here are a few tell-tale signs:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n