Data Theft: What It Is and How to Protect Yourself 2023

Data theft has become an epidemic, impacting not only multinational corporations but also regular people. Cybercriminals exploit technical ignorance, naivety, and human emotions with damages forecast to amount to trillions of dollars - per year - by 2025.

Below, we'll let you know what dangers are lurking and how you can effectively and proactively guard against data theft.

Data theft is the illegal acquisition of personal, secret, or sensitive data, whether from companies, organizations, or individuals. Over the past few decades, cybercriminals have grown more sophisticated and daring. The methods listed below are some of those most commonly used:

Data theft can take a number of different forms. Sometimes victims remain completely oblivious to the fact that they've been targeted, while on other occasions, the consequences are drastic and unmistakable.

Identity theft occurs when a criminal impersonates someone else, using that "identity" to engage in illegal activity, like hacking a social media account. There are a number of different types of identity theft:

• Cybercriminals use fake profiles to spread lies and misinformation about their victims. Those they are impersonating will have to contend with damage to their reputation as well as legal and financial impacts.
• When criminals gain access to an account and assume their victim's identity, they can misuse their personal data to open new accounts on online shopping platforms and place huge orders. With banking information, they can apply for new credit cards, take out loans, or sign up for services, financially ruining their victims.
• Another repercussion of identity theft that shouldn't be underestimated is spam emails. Whenever an email account is hacked, criminals can send messages in the name of their victims. Alternatively, you might receive emails that look like spam, but are actually genuine and relate to fines or punishment for non-compliance that have arisen owing to the identity thieves' activities.

Doxing (sometimes also written as Doxxing) has been around since the 1980s and started out as a relatively harmless form of pranking someone. Today, it has lost most of its innocence, with modern-day doxing relying on publicly available information that is released to hurt its targets. Whether intimidating, intended to blackmail, or simply making them appear stupid, doxing is anything but fun.

When it comes to making a fast buck, extortion is one of the oldest tricks in the book. However, in the digital domain, thanks to ransomware, the process has become both more sophisticated and random. This type of malware encrypts individual files or even entire systems, demanding a pay-off for the decryption code. Such fraud causes billions of dollars in damages every year.

Data theft isn't easy to recognize, and even when it is, you might not have missed the warning signs. For example, since spam emails are mostly ignored, genuine warnings or notices from legal or debt-collecting firms that might be legitimate are written off. As such, we recommend taking any of the below warning signs seriously:

• Pay attention to any unsuccessful login attempts for your email accounts, social media profiles, or elsewhere.
• Don't ignore warning emails sent by service providers you have accounts with, such as eBay, PayPal, or Amazon. At the same time, be sure that these are authentic emails and not phishing attempts.
• If your computer or laptop starts behaving oddly after installing a new piece of software or visiting a strange website, scan it immediately using anti-virus and anti-malware software.
• In the event that your password suddenly stops working, it may have been cracked and changed without your knowledge.
• Regularly check your activity log. Should any unfamiliar or unrecognizable transactions appear, this can be a clear sign that the integrity of your account has been compromised.
• If invoices, bills, fines, or letters from debt collectors begin to regularly appear, chances are that your identity has been stolen. Someone is likely using your data to order goods and then have them delivered to a different address.

One way to enhance your digital security is to check whether your email address has been leaked. There are several free services that you can use to do this:

• On Have I Been Pwned? you can see whether your email address or telephone number has been released in any data leaks. The provider also offers a very long list of Internet sites where hackers upload illegally acquired login credentials.
• Pwned Pass­words serves as a useful supplement to Have I Been Pwned? allowing anyone to determine whether their passwords have been compromised. These passwords are included in the so-called "dictionaries" that are used in brute force attacks.
• Firefox Monitor uses data from Have I Been Pwned? but with a neat twist. After registering via email, you'll receive regular updates whenever your data pops up across the web.
• Identity Leak Checker assesses whether, based on your email address, any of your personal data, such as your birthday, telephone number, or physical address, have been released.
• After inputting your email address, F‑Secure ID PROTECTION tells you whether your data has been stolen in an email that includes all of its findings. You can also register with F-Secure to test all of the service's features for free for five days.

Victims rarely realize that their data has been stolen until months or years later. For that reason, we recommend taking a more proactive approach when it comes to your digital security. The steps below will help to avoid nasty digital surprises:

There's no such thing as 100% protection against data theft. Even if you follow all of our advice, there's still a chance that a digital fraudster can access your data. Your first reaction will likely be anger, fear, or panic. This is understandable, but it can paralyze your response. Instead, take a deep breath and relax, since you'll have a lot to do and likely, very little time to do it. These should be your next steps:

Anyone can fall victim to data theft, even those who don't use the Internet. Cybercriminals have grown more aggressive and creative in targeting their prey, and there's no 100% foolproof solution to ward them off. With that said, there is quite a bit that you can do to reduce the likelihood of being targeted. Should you have already become a victim, reacting quickly is the best course of action.

EXPERTE.com features plenty of reviews for programs that can help you to use the Internet more securely, such as VPNs, password managers, and antivirus software. Still, the best defense against data theft is a healthy dose of common sense: Don't open suspicious emails or click on links to websites, and never use passwords for more than one account.