Identity theft

One of the main reasons for setting up a fraudulent website is to steal identity details.

Show description|Hide description

A padlock with the words ‘Identify theft’ beside it.

Identity theft is a type of fraud where an attacker uses stolen personal information to impersonate another person. In the past, this type of fraud involved intercepting postal deliveries containing personal information: names, addresses, bank account details and so on. It would then be possible for the fraudster to open credit card accounts and apply for loans in your name. It goes without saying that identity theft can ruin a person’s finances.

The online world has opened up new sources of information for fraudsters. Even security-conscious people can fall victim to malware designed to detect your personal information. We have seen in Lesson 3 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]   how phishing attacks can persuade users to divulge personal information. In Lesson 4, we learned how hackers can steal millions of personal records by attacking online retailers.