Fraud and Cybercrime Management, Identity Fraud, Social Media
Identity Theft Resource Center report shows 1,044% increase in social media scams
Anna Delaney (annamadeline) •
August 19, 2022
The Identity Theft Resource Center has released its first-ever look at identity trends based on information from victims who contact the ITRC. There “2021 Trends in Identity Report” finds a 1,044% increase in social media account takeovers and an increase in the number of new financial accounts opened in a victim’s name compared to criminals accessing existing financial accounts.
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In recent years, most account-related scams involved stealing credentials to access a victim’s existing accounts, but this is shifting to scammers opening new accounts in the victim’s name without their knowledge. of the victim,” said James E. Lee, ITRC’s chief operating officer. This type of fraud affects banks and credit card companies with financial losses and creates major problems for victims who often face legal and credit issues.
In this video interview with Information Security Media Group, Lee discusses:
- Highlights from ITRC’s 2021 Trends in Identity Report;
- The latest scams used by criminals to coerce people into sharing information;
- What businesses and consumers can do to protect themselves.
A data protection and technology veteran, Lee is the former executive vice president and general secretary of Irish application security company Waratek and former senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the London-based data pioneer. Atlanta, ChoicePoint, now LexisNexis. He also chaired two task forces for the American National Standards Institute on identity management and privacy and served as global head of public affairs and communications at International Paper Company.
