4 Surprising Ways Your Identity Could Be Stolen

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Fraudulent activity is like the fruit fly of the adult world — it’s not super necessary, it helps no one and everyone freaks out when it’s around. Not everyone has experienced financial theft, but those who have still have serious anxiety every time they check their bank accounts and notice one potentially random charge. But to make things worse, someone snagging your bank info and buying $3,000 worth of Sephora products in Memphis isn’t where fraudulent activity stops.

There are a number of non-financial ways a thief could steal your information and use it against you. Here are four major fraudulent activities you should be on the lookout for.

1. Health Insurance

Yep, your health insurance could be stolen and used in your name. Health insurance fraud has been on the rise over the last few years, and it essentially means that someone who was able to obtain your name and your insurance information utilized your benefits. The only way you know it happened is when you get that awful patient statement in the mail. Make sure you’re on top of any charges that don’t seem like yours and call your insurance immediately if something looks fishy on your statement.

2. Tax Refunds

While there’s a deadline to complete your taxes, the Internal Revenue Service typically doesn’t compare your return with your employer’s paperwork until July. That means that thieves can utilize this time to file a fake return in your name and collect your tax return money. You won’t know what actually happened until your real return is flatly rejected by the IRS, so make sure to keep an eye on your returns and any weird activity connected to the IRS until summer rolls around.

3. Social Media

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The technical term for social media fraud is “social engineering.” It basically refers to thieves hacking their way into your account and sending your friends and family alarming messages like, “I’ve been robbed and I need you to wire me $500. Help!” Your best bet is to keep your settings super safe at all times, and if you notice a friend’s account messaging you like this, use your best judgment. Your friend would likely call you before randomly asking for $500, and if you want to be sure, ask them something particular that only your friend would know. Better yet, call them. 

4. Ransomware

Ransomware is exactly what it sounds like. Through a computer virus, thieves can hold your computer files for ransom until you pay them out. Most times, the amount reaches thousands of dollars. There’s not much you can do right now other than pay the thieves what they’re asking for or relinquish all of your files. It’s awful. So just be super careful with everything you download.