Identity theft is like a thief in the night; it can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. It is a real threat to everyone. We live in a time where so much personal information is stored online, which allows cybercriminals to steal it and use it for their gain. A Federal Trade Commission report shows that over 1 million people fell victim to identity theft in 2022. The most common types of identity theft are credit card fraud, bank fraud, and loan or lease fraud.

Identity theft is the unauthorised use of someone else's personal information for financial gain, often leaving victims with significant financial and emotional consequences. In the UK, identity theft is a prevalent issue, with an estimated 85,000 cases reported in 2019 alone. The impact of identity theft can be devastating, leading to financial loss, damaged credit scores, and emotional distress for the victims.

Identity theft is a crime that is unfortunately common and is devastating for the victim. Serious cases can require enormous amounts of time and money to recover. The three primary categories of identity theft include online identity theft, financial identity theft and medical identity theft.

In the digital age, identity theft poses a pervasive threat that organizations, regardless of their size or sector, must relentlessly combat. This insidious form of cybercrime involves the malicious exploitation of sensitive and confidential data, carrying grave implications for any organization. The consequences of a single breach can encompass financial losses, irreparable damage to reputation, and the imposition of regulatory penalties.

Read also: China-linked hackers attack telcos and network service providers using known bugs, a massive phishing campaign targets millions of Facebook users, and more.

It’s hard to think about personal digital safety and enterprise cybersecurity without referencing passwords. This is why I’m excited that Lookout has acquired SaferPass, an innovative Password Management company that provides secure online identity solutions for both consumers and businesses of all sizes. With the rise in identity theft and threats that seek to compromise corporate applications and emails, passwords offer a critical line of defense.

A Canadian man has been handed a three year prison sentence after being found guilty of buying and selling over 1700 stolen identities on a dark web marketplace. 29-year-old Slava Dmitriev, who went by the online handle of “GoldenAce”, bought and sold individuals’ personal private information, including social security numbers, on the AlphaBay dark web marketplace in 2016 and 2017.

This post is about LinkedIn – a go-to professional networking and jobs platform – a feature that allows outside individuals (not belonging to the target organisation) to post jobs on an organisation’s behalf. Whether you call it posting scam jobs on LinkedIn, phishing the LinkedIn users or any wider campaigns based on the drivers – it is a recipe for Identity fraud.