Identity theft is where your personal information is stolen and then used to apply for credit, to take out loans, make insurance claims and much more. The main aim of identity theft is to be able to access money in another person’s name and to do so without a trace.
It is not possible to completely remove the threat of idenitty theft but a Confidential shredding Oxford company like https://www.printwaste.co.uk/confidential-shredding/confidential-shredding-oxford/ helps to prevent bank statements and other paper based items being stolen and inadvertently giving criminals the ability to use the information to gain money.
Some of the most common ways that people access information to use for identity fraud and here are just a few of them:
Data loss – there are some instances where data is lost through a breach within a business.
Malware – this is where malicious software is used to spy on a computer’s users activity or is used to access information that can then be used for criminal activity.
Credit card theft – this is where your credit card information is exposed and criminals use this to either gain access to a cash advance or to buy products that will then be sold later on.
Mail theft – this involves your unshredded mail being stolen and the information used to commit identity fraud.
