ATLANTA — A recent study by the Identity Theft Resource Center says email and tech account takeovers are up over 750%.
Security experts say that artificial intelligence is making it easier than ever for thieves to access our personal information.
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In May 2024, Channel 2 Action News spoke with Jessica Brown. She’d been targeted by fraudsters promising her a well-paying work from home job.
“They obviously looked at my resume,” Brown told Channel 2 Action News. “I was vulnerable at that time, it was really hard for me, I was looking for a job.”
Luckily, Brown’s bank spotted the check she was supposed to cash to pay for office equipment as a scam.
But not everyone is that lucky.
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James E. Lee, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said data breaches give crooks the information they need to target you specifically.
“The number of data breaches we have every year affecting large groups of individuals, you should always operate under the assumption that your data has been compromised,” Lee said.
The organization found that emails and passwords are the most valuable, leading to a 754% increase in reports of account takeovers involving tech accounts.
“If they can get a hold of your Gmail password, for example, you may use the same password and login at home that you do at work, which means they can then attack your business, where you’re employed, or where you’re an executive,” Lee said.
Bad actors can use that information and access to wreak havoc, opening new accounts in your name or taking over your existing accounts.
And artificial intelligence makes it a lot easier for them to do it, helping create picture perfect templates and difficult to detect fake phone calls targeted to you.
To protect yourself, Lee says to use unique passwords and password managers.
“That password manager will create a password for you and remember it so you don’t have to,” Lee said.
Lee told Channel 2 Action News that social security numbers hold very little value to criminals. Instead, it’s all about those account logins, so keep them safe.
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