Ugly to the Bone: The Anatomy of Identity Theft

In previous articles, we explored who identity thieves are and what ID theft is and isn’t. Your personal identifying Information (PII) or personal health information (PHI) can be stolen in a variety of ways, so in this article we’ll look at how identity theft happens.
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Criminal Intent

The big data breaches we hear about on the news are generally caused by hackers who use malicious software to break into business systems to steal personal information or who mount “phishing” campaigns to gather personal information from unwitting Internet users. The hackers may be petty criminals using malware they bought on the Dark Web, they might be professional hackers working for big crime rings or nation-states, or they could be part of “hacktivist” organizations like WikiLeaks. Criminal hackers steal information in order to commit identity theft, whereas nation states or hacktivist groups may be looking for compromising information to use against an organization or its customers (like when North Korea hacked Sony Pictures in retaliation for a movie that made fun of Kim Jong Un). ​

Petty thieves or organized crime rings may also steal personal information one victim at a time. Employees at retail stores, fast food, gas stations, etc., can use devices called skimmers to capture information from credit or debit cards. Sometimes workers are bribed or intimidated into skimming or otherwise stealing personal info, and sometimes it’s an initiation rite for gangs, which are often tied into organized crime rings.
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The Old-Fashioned Way

A decade ago, most identity theft was committed by individuals stealing personal information for their own gain. It involved stealing paper documents or directly stealing computers, and there are still plenty of thieves committing ID theft the old-fashioned way. It could be a dishonest employee stealing the identity of a small business owner, a petty thief who steals bank statements from a mailbox, or a deadbeat relative who steals a child’s identity to finance their bad habits.
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An Ounce of Prevention

If all of this is making you feel a little paranoid about all these identity thieves around you, be assured that you can protect yourself. Keeping your personal documents secure will head off paper thieves. Using cash at gas stations and fast food restaurants will help fight skimmers (and if you can’t use cash, use credit cards rather than debit cards). Being on the lookout for suspicious emails and online popup ads will head off phishers. And for the data breaches you can’t prevent, you can get identity protection services to alert you to any problems and help recover your identity. Identity theft is an ugly business, but there’s no need to panic. Just be careful, be cautious, and be proactive about protecting yourself and your family! ​