Top signs that indicate a potential Identity Theft attack

We have read and heard so many times, how important is to keep your personal information protected from fraudsters. We also know how stolen personal details can adversely affect the victim(s), especially in the online world. It is important to act safely while using the Internet. But to do that we need to look for clues that can tell us whether we are transacting on a genuine website or receiving emails and messages from genuine sources or is it an attempt a crook is making to steal our identity.

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So, let us look at the most common signs that can help you in identifying possibilities of your identity getting stolen:

Sign 1 – You have stopped receiving, suddenly, the mobile phone or electricity or water or gas or any other household bill from the service provider.

This may mean your service provider systems has some errors because of which the bills are not landing in your email box. But this is only our first reaction. In reality, it could be happening due to loss of our personal information to a scamster, who in turn would have used it to change the billing address, email id or contact number in the service provider’s records. In the worst-case scenario, you will end up losing the utility service that you had been using till now without any problems.

Sign 2 – You have maintained good credit history but all of a sudden, your loan or credit card applications are getting rejected.

This is a vital sign of your identity being stolen. The fraudster possibly got a loan or card approved in your name, used the money for personal benefit and then defaulted on repayments. What it means for you? A good credit history turning bad and any new application that you make will have a high possibility of rejection. Even in case you get an approval, the rate of interest that the bank or credit card company gives you will be significantly higher than the prevailing interest rates in the market. 

Sign 3 – You notice transactions in your credit card bill or bank account statements that you have not made.

You are a shopaholic and love using your credit card for online shopping. You saw some offers in a genuine-looking email and for availing them you need to give your credit card details or bank account details. You could not resist the offer, gave your details which got compromised without you even getting suspicious. Later, the fraudster used your credentials to make purchases online. The transactions got debited in your credit card or bank account. And finally, you receive the credit card bill asking for payment. You realised you made a mistake but it was too late. Now, it is a struggle for you to prove to the credit card company that you did not make the transactions. Either you end up making the payment for things you did not buy or get your credit rating destroyed in case you default. In case the transactions were made in your bank account, the money is already gone.

Sign 4 – The Income Tax Department sends you a notice demanding unpaid tax amount or rejects the tax returns you have filed.

This can be shocker for you or anyone for that matter when such a notice is received. No one wants to be in the bad books of the Income Tax Department. However, you must know the reason why this happened. This could be an outcome of your stolen identity. The scammer would file a false tax return in your name using your stolen credentials and then will claim a refund in a bank account controlled by him. And, ultimately, since it is your stolen identity, the tax department will send you the notice for recovery or reject your tax return on realising this mismatch. And now the liability lies with you to prove the whole scenario. So, beware!

Sign 5 – Small low-amount transactions appear in your card or bank statement that you don’t bother for.

This is a usual trick adopted by fraudsters to check whether your card account or bank account is active or not. They will silently spend insignificant amount (Rs. 3/-) on your card or bank account. As soon as they realise that the account is active, they would hit it will larger amounts to defraud you. All this can only happen, when your personal details, card and bank account details have got compromised. Staying vigilant can be a key to safety in such scenarios.

Sign 6 – You have clean record and policemen arrive unexpectedly at your doorsteps.

This is a sign of a criminal identity theft. Someone used your credentials to create a fake identity to deceive the law enforcement and evade arrest. Since your records were used to fake, it is you who will be apprehended by the cops. It comes to you as a surprise as you only realise this when it happens. You must understand how important it is to keep your personal information safe. Do not fall for any traps that appear luring. It will be extremely difficult for you to prove to the world about your real identity.

Sign 7 – Your cheques start to bounce and you get payment recovery calls from collection agents.

Despite having sufficient balance in your bank account, your payment cheque bounced. To complicate the matters, the party to which you issued the cheque, asked recovery agents to make call to recover the money by all means. Surprised, don’t be. You did not even realise that the text message to which you responded to get a free sample of a product was fake. And you gave away your bank details happily in expectation of getting a free product. Later the cyber criminal used your personal details to change account details in your bank including your registered signature. As a result, the cheque you issued got dishonoured. Now, you have to bear the brunt of reckless online behaviour.

Sign 8 – Your medical insurance company rejects your legitimate medical claim.

You are already in midst of a health emergency and expect your medical insurance company to be your saviour. You recovered from the illness but to your disbelief when you sought reimbursement of medical bill, the claim got rejected. Reason of rejection – you overshot your medical reimbursement limit. Don’t be surprised. It is another classic case that your medical identity is compromised. Someone else enjoyed free medical benefits at your cost leaving you in middle of a health emergency as well as a big financial mess.

Sign 9 – Your service provider sends you a notice of data breach at their end.

This is possibly the easiest clues you will get as a registered customer. Companies these days will communicate proactively to their existing customers about data leaks that happened at their end. Legal regulations make them do so compulsorily. If you get such a notice, act pragmatically to safeguard your personal information as much as you can. But stay cautious as well. Hackers will also use this as an exploit. Do not fall for any call, message or email that appear real (but can be a fake), talks about the data breach and asks you to provide your personal information on pretext of safeguarding it. Instead, visit the bank branch or mobile service provider’s store for getting the information updated.

To Conclude

At any given point in time, we must not get complacent about our online safety. It is naive to think that nothing of this sort can ever happen to me, as I know everything. It can happen to anyone for that matter. Even the biggest cyber security companies are vulnerable to attacks and data breaches. What happened recently with a large US based cyber security company is a classic example.

Keep learning, stay alert, don’t be greedy and stick to good practices as it is the key to safety in the cyber space.