In today’s world, it’s important to know how to prevent identity theft and how to protect your identity. Fraud and identity theft are far more common than you might think, and it pays to be up to speed on how to avoid identity theft and the tricks used by hackers and con artists.
In this guide, I’ll explore identity protection services, how to protect against identity theft, and how to report it if you’ve been targeted.
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Best Tools to Prevent Theft Protection
- TotalAV – Superb Antivirus Software for Real-Time Identity Protection
- Norton – PC and Mobile Antivirus with Great Virus Detection Rates
- NordVPN TP – Global VPN with an Extensive Threat Protection Tool
How Does Identity Theft Work?

According to Statista, there were over 1,800 reported major data breaches in 2022, which impacted a staggering 422 million individuals. This illustrates the scale of the threat and the number of malicious actors intent on capturing personal information.
The consequences of identity theft are often severe, and the process of recovering a stolen identity can be time-consuming, stressful, and costly. Because of this, it’s very important to do everything you can to protect your data from cybercriminals. Fortunately, there are a range of digital tools you can use to protect yourself.
Read on to learn how to stop identity theft and what to do if you’ve already had your details stolen.
Top 13 Identity Theft Protection Tips
If you’re worried about someone stealing your identity or exploiting your personal or banking information, there are steps you can take to protect yourself. Here are 13 tips to prevent identity theft, which you should always follow.
How Identity Thieves Get Access To Your Information Online
There are many ways in which criminals can obtain your information. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the most common ways fraudsters steal your information.
- Spyware – If you’re visiting shady websites, clicking on ads, or torrenting files from untrusted sources, you might unknowingly download spyware to your device. These programs record and transmit your data to cybercriminals, tracking your clicks, key presses, and search history – potentially exposing everything you do.
- Data Breaches – When cybercriminals hack their way into the databases of online service providers, they can potentially grab information on millions of people. That’s why you should install an antivirus with data breach monitoring, so you’ll have time to update your passwords before an identity thief can start using your details.
- Network Attacks – Cybercriminals can gain access to your device and data by exploiting vulnerabilities in unsecured public Wi-Fi networks. That’s why I recommend always using an antivirus with a VPN on your phone or laptop before connecting to public Wi-Fi.
- Email Scams – Phishing attacks can be conducted via email, SMS, and social media. Scammers impersonate legitimate businesses, service providers, and institutions and attempt to trick you into sharing your information, often by telling you that you need to update your passwords to secure your accounts. They may even direct you to legitimate-looking sites to confirm your credentials.
There are also a number of ways malicious individuals can steal your details offline. These include:
- Mailbox Theft – Criminals can steal your mail from your mailbox or even redirect mail to a different location. That’s why you should use a secure mailbox and make sure to regularly pick up your mail. You can also sign up for services to get emails with images of items you should expect so you’ll know if they don’t arrive.
- Lost or Stolen Wallets – If you lose your wallet or it’s stolen, then criminals may have access to your ID, credit cards, social security number, or any other documents you typically carry. If this happens, you should immediately report the theft, notify the relevant institutions, and freeze or cancel your lost cards.
- Phone Scams – These scams are similar to phishing attacks and see fraudsters asking for personal or financial information or passwords, justifying the request by telling you that they need to verify your identity. No legitimate service or institution will ever ask you for these details, so never give strangers personal information over the phone.
- Skimming – This is a more subtle approach to stealing card information, with electronic devices fitted to ATMs and compromised credit card readers being used to record your details. If possible, always pay inside, at store counters.
Consider what information you’re sharing online and who you’re sharing it with. You may be sharing personal details like your full name, your age, your address, your email address, your phone number, and your interests.
Social platforms typically provide settings that let you control what you share and, in some cases, segment your contacts. It’s worth spending time to make sure you’re happy with your setup and that personal details aren’t being shared with people you don’t know. McAfee also offers a Social Privacy Manager, which can help you ensure your settings match your desired level of security.
To stop anyone from hacking your social media accounts, meanwhile, make sure to use strong passwords and enable multi-factor authentication wherever it’s possible.
How to Report Identity Theft
You can also contact the IRS if the identity theft potentially has anything to do with your tax returns by calling 800-908-4490.
After reporting the identity theft to the FTC and the IRS, you should contact your local police department, credit card issuers, and postal service, especially if you’ve lost your wallet or have had your personal documents stolen. To facilitate this, it’s useful to have a copy of important documents on hand at home.
Should You Use an Identity Protection Service?
The Norton 360 with LifeLock Ultimate Plus plan offers a particularly impressive set of identity theft protection features, which include:
- Bank and credit card activity alerts
- 401(k) and investment account alerts
- Social Security and credit alerts
- Buy now, pay later alerts
- Home title monitoring
- Stolen wallet protection
- Credit monitoring coverage with three credit bureaus
- $1 million stolen funds reimbursement
In combination with an antivirus, a password manager, dark web monitoring, and anti-phishing tools, it’s an excellent package for protecting your data and the security of your identity.
NordVPN offers $1 million in cyber protection for identity theft recovery and $100,000 coverage for cyber extortion.
Conclusion – How to Protect Against Identity Theft?
Millions of people fall victim to identity theft each year. Recovering your information and repairing your credit score is time-consuming and costly, and you may well still be the target of repeated fraud attempts.
That’s why you should take every possible precaution to ensure the security of your personal and financial information. I recommend protecting your devices by installing trustworthy antivirus software, like TotalAV, using strong, unique passwords for all your accounts, and periodically checking your credit reports.
Of course, you should also be mindful of the websites you visit, the links you click, and the files you download.
FAQs
How can you prevent identity theft online?
How can you tell if someone is using your identity?
What can you do to prevent medical identity theft?
What should you do to prevent identity theft after losing a wallet?
How can you prevent the identity theft of a deceased person?
What happens when you report identity theft?
References
- Data Breaches in the United States from 2005 to 2022 (Statista)
- Federal Trade Commission IdentityTheft.gov homepage (IdentityTheft.gov)
- OptOutPrescreen.com homepage (OptOutPrescreen.com)
- Taxpayer guide to identity theft (IRS)