Data Protection

Your personal data is a valuable asset — and thanks to technology, it’s also vulnerable to exploitation. Anyone can fall prey to data breaches, phishing tricks, online shopping scams and other types of cyberattacks.

Practices such as data mining that gather large amounts of personal, financial or medical information in one place can create attractive targets for hackers.

The financial costs of fraud and identity theft are enormous. Some 17 million identity theft victims lost an estimated $17 billion in 2017, according to the research firm Javelin — and the damage can be life-altering. Identity thieves can destroy your credit, and collection agencies may hound you. It can even put your home and job at risk.

If you are victimized, it’s vital to report the scam and take steps to minimize the damage.

In the first half of 2018, more than 900 data breaches led to the compromise of 3.3 billion data records worldwide, according to the digital security firm Gemalto. That’s a 72 percent increase over the number of records that were lost, stolen or compromised in 2017.

A data breach is a security incident in which sensitive personal information — such as your social security number, credit card account information or medical information — is accessed without authorization. Hackers often take the stolen information and sell it on the dark web, an untraceable part of the internet where crime thrives.

A single credit card number can be purchased for about $7 on the dark web, according to global cybersecurity firm Secureworks. The going rate for a full bundle of your personal information — known as a “fullz” in cybercriminal lingo — is as little as $15 to $65.

With these details, attackers can apply for lines of credit in their victims’ names, hack their personal devices, file fraudulent tax returns and commit other types of fraud.

If you’ve received notice that your information was exposed in a data breach, the Federal Trade Commission’s website will guide you through important steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft. It also provides information specific to the Equifax data breach and breaches involving MyFitnessPal and Lord & Taylor, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sakes OFF 5th.

Unfortunately, data breaches often lead to identity theft and fraud. When this happens, someone else may use your name, social security number and other personal information to open accounts, make purchases or even file an income tax return.

Credit card fraud is the most prevalent form of identity theft, according to FTC data. The agency received more than 133,000 reports from people who said someone else had used their information to charge purchases or open a new credit card account. Employment and tax-related fraud is the second most reported type of identity theft.

And the damage can take considerable time to uncover and repair. Many consumers don’t realize or discover the fraud for weeks or months. It can take six months on average and 100 to 200 hours of personal time to undo the damage caused by identity theft, according to a report in The Economist magazine.

If you’ve been affected by identity theft and don’t know where to turn, the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov can help. The site will walk you through the steps of reporting the crime and developing a recovery plan. It even provides sample letters to send to creditors and banks to help get charges reversed.

Consumers reported losing $905 million to fraud in 2017 — with an average loss of $429 — according to the FTC. In over two-thirds of these cases, the scammers contacted consumers via telephone.

Topping the list of fraudulent schemes are so-called imposter scams, in which fraudsters pretend to be someone you know or trust and convince you to wire them money.

Other commonly reported scams and fraud, according to the FTC, involve: shop-at-home and catalog sales ($94 million in reported fraud in 2017); travel, vacation and timeshares ($38 million); foreign money offers and counterfeit check scams ($34 million); telephone and mobile services ($17 million); and advanced payments for credit services ($15 million).

If you’ve been ripped off, you can file a complaint online with the FTC. According to the agency, these complaints help investigators detect patterns of fraud and abuse.

You can also report international scams online at econsumer.gov, a partnership of nearly three dozen consumer protection agencies around the globe known as the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network.

It’s not just your money that cybercriminals are after. Medical identity theft is a growing problem. According to the FTC, criminals can use your identity to get prescription drugs and file claims with your health insurance provider.

In 2018 alone, nearly 5.9 million Americans had their protected health information and other data exposed in 118 reported hacking or IT incidents, according to “Breach Portal” operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights.

That’s why it’s important to review your health insurance statements regularly and check your medical files for accuracy if you think you’ve been defrauded.

Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, health care providers, insurance companies and their business associates must notify HHS and consumers when breaches affecting at least 500 people occur. Notifications must be made within two months of the discovery of the breach.

If you think you might be a victim of medical identity theft, the FTC provides online resources to help you detect the fraud and correct mistakes in your medical records.