Credit Card Identity Theft – The Simple Explanation and Meaning

What does credit card identity theft really mean? Starting a day with the fact that your personal information has just been stolen is bad enough. The credit card number you saved on your computer becomes your three-year agony. You change your mind about the security of a personal computer. Credit card identity theft is one of the most common online crimes.

The unauthorized use of another person’s personal information in fraudulent acts is considered identity theft. This personal information can be:

• SSN,

• Date of birth,

• Name,

• Address,

• Email address,

• gender,

• Marital status,

• geographic location,

• driver’s license number,

• Credit card number,

• debit card number,

• Bank account number.

And so credit card fraud is the unauthorized use of a credit or debit card, or similar recurring charge payment tool, to fraudulently obtain money or property. Credit and debit card numbers can be stolen from unsecured websites, personal computers, and used in credit card identity theft.

Credit card identity theft data

What would someone with stolen information want? Believe it or not, there is a substantial and thriving market on the Dark Web that sells this type of data. Depending on how much personal information a thief can collect about a person, it could cost anywhere from $1 to $450 a piece.

These thieves are also known as hackers. Hackers are computer enthusiasts, however those who are less ethical are prone to stealing. Which, consequently, leads us to cybercrime groups always on the hunt for information.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) conducted an investigation that showed that this stolen information will appear on black markets within minutes. Thieves take about 9 minutes to categorize and put someone’s identity up for sale.

The most affected country in the world is Mexico. While 46% of all credit card identity theft worldwide occurs in the US, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, this form of identity theft occurs every two seconds. It seems that the most affected age group is that of those over 50 years of age and young adults between 20 and 29.

The elders are having a problem because of their lack of knowledge. They are the easiest targets.

“You say I opened a new account?” said old Mrs. Smith shaking her head in shock. “Well, I never…” – the old woman was still incredulous when they called her from the bank.

That was the beginning of three years of agony for the elderly woman and $7,761 in expenses that she had to take on to fix the problem. Many of the victims have exactly the same financial losses as victims of credit card identity theft.

Mrs. Smith had discovered this shocking fraud in three months. However, the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) aftermath study shows reports that it takes nearly three years for victims to realize their identities have been stolen.

Credit Card Identity Theft Protection

The aftermath of credit card identity theft is emotionally and physically draining. The greatest impact has the financial expense. How does someone protect themselves from credit card fraud and identity theft?

Best practices for users are:

– Periodically review bank accounts and credit statements. A truth can be discovered if the irregularities are detected in time.

– Keep social networks and other accounts under control. It is a well known fact that social networks are hungry for data. Keeping personal data to a minimum is best practice. Also, make sure that only friends can see the event posts.

– Run a scan and discover personal information stored on the computer. Security companies developed software designed to keep private information private. Such is the Identity Theft Preventer which scans within the text files as well as the internet browser to discover the exposed confidential information.

Storing personal data on the computer is a bad idea

Keeping personally identifiable data away from your computer and hard drive can greatly prevent any inconvenience. Market research reveals that many people store their information on their personal computer. Most of them save bank account credentials or SSN numbers in text files.

Cisco’s research of the Asian market shows that 27% even store their personal data on office computers. Any trace of such data can cause the user a much bigger problem. Some of the victims of identity theft have reported going through all kinds of hassles. Some had been questioned by law enforcement because criminals abused their personal data.

Malware created under the grid and on the Dark Web can allow its creator to view all files stored on the victim’s computer. Most online identity theft is done through the distribution of malicious software. Keeping personally identifiable data out of reach can minimize the exposure of personal information.

FBI: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime/identity-theft
ITRC: https://www.idtheftcenter.org/