So far this summer, there have been many newsworthy cases in which consumers’ identities have been stolen creating major headaches for companies and ruining customers’ credit. In case you’re wondering what hackers are going after when they steal people’s identities, it’s mostly Social Security numbers. Each year, several million victims fall prey to identify theft schemes each year in the United States.
A recent interview conducted by Property Casulty 360 with a CyberScout cybersecurity analyst ended up with him referring to Social Security numbers as the “golden ticket”. He said that may identify thieves will take them, set up credit in an individual’s name and quickly drain all of their financial accounts of all monetary resources.
As the second piece of most prized information that gets stolen? It’s credit card numbers. This data often gets used by thieves to make unauthorized transactions. Financial analysts warn that information isn’t always used right away after it’s obtained either. Instead, many identity thieves will lay in wait watching your credit, taking advantage to step in and ruin it at the most vulnerable time.
Another cybersecurity analyst consulted by Property Casualty 360 suggests is that identity thieves are selective when it comes to who they hack. The tend to prey upon juveniles and those 50-plus who are apt to realize that their identities have been compromised until later on.
Those least vulnerable to being hacked are those young adults in the 18 to 27 year old demographic. Analysts suggest that they’re less apt to be hacked because they tend to have less credit available to them to run up.
While many of the less experienced identity thieves often get caught, many of the more sophisticated ones are successful at remaining at large. Juries are often quick to convict individuals charged with financial crimes such as identity theft. You’ll want to have an experienced Mahopac criminal defense attorney on your side when everything is on the line.
