By now, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve run across a fake scam email or know someone who has had their money or identify stolen as a result of a phone or internet scam.
Unfortunately, 2023 had a record high number of data compromises within the US.
There has been a 72-percentage rise in the number of compromises since 2021. FBI’s Internet Crime Task Force has reported at least 353 million individuals impacted by cyber-crimes. Estimated loss from scams has increased to 12.5 billion in 2023, up from 10.3 billion in 2022.
The top-5 types of identity theft in 2023 were:
- Credit card fraud.
- Bank Fraud
- Government Benefits fraud-applied for
- Loan Fraud or business/personal loans
- Identify theft for online shopping and payment accounts
Currently trending cyber-crime, internet, and phone scams
- Tax Refunds and returns waiting for review
- Shipping/tracking information needing review
- Renewal for online services (that you don’t actually have)
- Federal and Local State Imposters (IRS, State)
- Imposter emails requesting banking info or updates
So what can you do to avoid some of these scams?
Here is a short list of recommendations to better educate and protect yourself:
- Do not open email from people you don’t know
- Be careful with links and new website addresses
- Secure your personal information
- Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
- Use strong passwords
- Keep your software up to date
- Update your device operating systems
