What is identity theft?
Identity theft is an act in which one person impersonates another person, usually with the aim of defrauding them and stealing their property or money (or both). In other cases, identity theft is intended to allow the impostor to access the location or data of the person they are impersonating (usually sensitive data that has financial or even security significance).
Identity theft can be carried out by forging identification documents (ID card, passport, driver's license) so that the impostor uses them to physically access a certain location and present himself as the person he is impersonating.
It is also possible to steal an identity through digital means and take control of the victim's bank account, credit card information, or phone number, and by accessing all of these, simply empty the victim's accounts.
It is important to understand that identity theft has significant consequences for the victim that can last for many years, especially if the impostor is not located and caught. In such a situation, the impostor can continue to impersonate the victim indefinitely, and attempt to defraud other entities by impersonating the victim. Government websites have been offering useful information on how to protect against identity theft since 2019..
If you encounter a situation of identity theft, you must act immediately to try to minimize the damage that may be caused to you, otherwise you may find yourself spending endlessly for many years in courts and police stations.
How is identity theft carried out?
In the era we live in, and especially with the development of social networks, identity theft has become a much simpler task because many of us willingly share a great deal of information, including personal data, that can aid in identity theft. For this reason, it is very important to pay attention to what you voluntarily post, and where.
Phishing scam
להונאת פישינג יש צורות שונות. לדוגמה הקמת אתר אינטרנט שמתחזה לאתר לגיטימי שבו הקורבן מזין פרטים אישיים, או קבלת הודעת דוא"ל שמתחזה לגורם שבו הקורבן נותן אמון ובאמצעות הודעת דוא"ל זו המתחזה מצליח להשיג את פרטי הקורבן.
Another common case is that the impostor calls the victim by phone and manages to get them to provide personal information (for example: the impostor calls the victim and pretends to be a bank teller or police officer and demands personal information, claiming that this is necessary to protect the victim from hackers). This is Telephone fraud A classic that is often directed against older people.
The bottom line is that the goal of a phishing scam is to get the victim to provide information without them being aware that they are providing information that could lead to identity theft.
פריצה לחשבונות פרטיים (רשתות חברתיות/דוא"ל וכדומה)
גניבת זהות יכולה להתבצע גם באמצעות פריצה לחשבונות פרטיים שמכילים עליכם מידע אישי. לדוגמה חשובונת ברשתות החברתיות וחשבונות דוא"ל.
Often, by hacking into social media accounts, the impostor tries to deceive the victim's social media friends, who are usually unsuspecting and believe they are having a conversation with someone they know.
פריצה לחשבונות דוא"ל ולרשתות החברתיות יכולה להיות חמורה במיוחד מכיוון שכך המתחזה מקבל גישה מיידית להמון מידע אישי שניתן לנצל לצרכים שונים.
Gaining access to compromised databases
From time to time, the media reports that various hacker groups have broken into large entities (for example, insurance companies) and stolen personal information about customers. At a later stage, this personal information is sold to third parties, who can use it for impersonation and identity theft.
Theft and forgery of identification documents
If you have ever lost an ID card, driver's license, or passport, you should know that these documents can be used by criminals for identity theft.
These documents can be used by criminals to impersonate you and take out loans in your name, or even in more extreme cases, to sell properties registered in your name and even take over your apartment.
How do you protect yourself from identity theft?
There are a few fairly simple rules. If you follow them, you significantly reduce the possibility that someone will be able to steal your identity via the Internet or offline.
Be careful not to share personal information online.
Every time you post personal information online, you may be helping a crook steal your identity. Sometimes it's details you don't even think about that could help someone steal your identity, like posting your date of birth.
In many cases, the victim posts different personal details in different places. An impostor who wants to steal your identity will simply spend several hours cross-referencing data and locating the details you posted on different platforms, making it easier for him to glean more and more details you posted yourself in order to successfully steal your identity.
It is important to use complex and long passwords.
אתם תופתעו לגלות כמה אנשים עדיין משתמשים באותה סיסמה למגוון חשבונות שונים, או אפילו משתמשים בסיסמא כמו "12345".
It is very important to use different passwords for different websites and accounts. If you use an English password, make sure that the password includes at least one uppercase and lowercase letter, a number, and a symbol. An example of a good, complex password: js#FTf^&63^G6.
Learn the difference between HTTP and HTTPS
If you look at the address of any website you visit, you will find that each one starts with either HTTP or HTTPS. The difference between the two is that HTTPS is a secure protocol and when you enter personal information (for example, credit card information) that information is encrypted and cannot be accessed by third parties.
If you have ever visited a website that does not use the HTTPS protocol (for example, a sales website) and been asked to enter personal information or credit card details, know that you are at risk of having your details stolen, which could be used for identity theft.
Do not give out personal information or IDs to other people.
It's not just the digital world that is full of dangers, and you should know that you should never reveal personal information (such as passwords) or give out identification documents to people you don't know, even if they convince you that it's in your best interest.Receiving something fraudulently).
This information or your personal documents can easily be used for negative purposes such as identity theft.
The dangers of identity theft
Theft of money
In most cases of identity theft, the goal is to steal the victim's money. If the impostor succeeds in forging the victim's ID, he can contact various entities and request loans in the victim's name. Some of these entities may be entities that provide non-bank loans. In some cases, the impostor will even complicate the victim by taking out loans from entities connected to the gray market, so that in the end the victim will not only have to deal with civil lawsuits and enforcement proceedings, but will also be pursued by criminals who may try to physically harm him in order to repay the loan.
Theft of property
Identity theft can be used to steal assets registered in the victim's name. In extreme cases, and when dealing with resourceful imposters, it may be possible to steal identity and use forged documents to sell an apartment belonging to the victim or any other property.
The more assets a victim has that are worth significant amounts of money, the more incentive a fraudster has to try to steal the identity, impersonate the victim, and rob them of their assets.
How do you deal with identity theft?
Typically, the victim will discover that they have been the victim of identity theft after they start receiving Warnings before taking legal action From third parties who gave money to the impostor, or after he tries to sell one of his assets and discovers that it is no longer registered in his name.
In these cases, it is important to act immediately and not delay. Here are the steps you need to take:
Filing a complaint with the police
The first thing you should do after identity theft is to contact the Israeli police and file a complaint. Even if the police do nothing or fail to locate the impostor, the mere fact of filing a complaint and receiving a document confirming that you filed a complaint may help you later when managing your case. Civil lawsuit or Financial claim.
Contacting financial institutions and demanding increased identification measures
The goal of almost every impostor is to steal as much money from you as quickly as possible. If you know that you have been a victim of identity theft, immediately notify your bank and credit card company to increase the means of identification relevant to you. In some cases, the bank will advise you to limit your access to your account operations via the app, and will recommend that you perform any operations on your account only by physically visiting the branch.
While this is an inconvenience, it is certainly better than finding out that someone managed to gain access to your account and transfer funds from it.
Changing passwords on sensitive sites
It is very possible that your identity was stolen by hacking into one of your accounts. To prevent further information from being leaked that could help the impostor, make sure to change all passwords on sensitive sites. Passwords should be complex and long.
Hiring the services of a fraud and deceit lawyer
After identity theft, it is very possible that various entities will begin to contact you and demand money from you. In these cases, you will have to deal with those entities through legal proceedings. It is highly recommended to use the services of Fraud and deceit lawyer Who is experienced in these types of cases and will be able to assist you in dealing with all entities that want to collect money from you.
In conclusion
Identity theft is the act of impersonation with the aim of defrauding the victim of money or property. Identity theft makes use of the victim's fake identification documents (ID card/driver's license/passport), or by obtaining the victim's personal information over the Internet.
There are many ways to steal identities today, but the most common is phishing scams, because they do not require much time or special expertise, and can be applied relatively easily to a large number of victims at the same time.
If you have fallen victim to identity theft, you should act as soon as possible and file a police report, contact your banks and credit card companies to inform them that someone has stolen your identity and may be impersonating you when contacting them, change all passwords to sensitive websites, and contact a fraud and scam lawyer to represent you.
