The digital age has brought with it many advantages in everyday life: productivity gains, immediate and remote access to information, enabling remote development of processes and services, the possibility of having customers and suppliers in remote and distant areas etc. At the same time this phenomenon has given rise to new forms of crime/fraud, misinformation, and possible confidentiality issues that affect individuals, companies, and society as a whole.
One of the main reasons for the person who steals identities, is to achieve benefits (often financial) or, to disseminate apocryphal or biased information on behalf of another person, which affects the plagiarized individual, as well as companies (banks, stores, etc.), as they face fictitious users who test their security systems, which has led to increased costs for companies and obviously for end users; impairing the experience of buying or hiring a service.
What is Identity Theft?
When a person appropriates the identity of another, through the use of his personal data (name, address, telephones, official identification numbers, photographs, fingerprints, credit card numbers, etc.), without authorization and without knowledge of the owner.
During the first quarter of 2019, reports for traditional and cyber identity theft increased by about 336% in Mexico (Data from the Bank of Mexico – Banxico-), and crucially is that the affected person takes about 106 days to realize that he has been the victim of a crime (Data from the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services –Condusef-)
How is identity theft performed?
• When someone else appropriates through the theft of bags and/or wallets, and has access to IDs and credit cards.
• When bank statements, they are thrown away without any caution.
• When shopping is made online, without verifying that the portals are safe.
• In the theft of cell phones, they contain sensitive information of keys, banks, etc.
• Through the theft of correspondence, with sensitive data.
• Through social networks, when sharing sensitive information.
• When responding to emails designed as bait to extract sensitive personal information, these are commonly known in the cyber world as "phishing"
Recommendations for people
• Constantly check bank statements to detect unrecognized or suspicious movements.
• Avoid browsing unreliable sites, which do not have security certifications, and avoid entering user data and keys.
• In the event of theft of sensitive information, raise the corresponding complaint with the relevant authorities.
• Avoid sharing your information on sites, calls and people.
• Do not succumb to offers of products or services that seem very attractive, but that require sensitive data to be granted.
• Do not use the functions of saving information on devices.
Business recommendations
• Check physical vs digital information.
• Accredit identities through different biometrics.
• Constantly train staff, and be in frequent contact with customers on good security practice protocols.
• Consult and consult regularly with leading companies in biometric and digital security systems.
• Adhere to security and transmission policies.
Prevention will always be the first step to avoid falling into this type of crime, but if it ever happens to you, keep in mind that you can go to institutions in your country and locality, which can support you.