Scammers are getting so good at what they do, they can now steal your fingerprints or voice.
Channel 2’s Tom Regan looked into this new type of identify theft and shares how you can protect yourself.
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Stephanie Fountain just moved, she’s taking classes and dealing with an identity theft mess.
“I freaked out. Like I started bawling my eyes out,” said Fountain, of Gastonia, North Carolina.
She said she went to file taxes and found out someone already did – in her name.
“My credit’s been ruined. It’s just impacting me big time,” said Fountain.
Identity theft usually involves things like Social Security numbers.
But now it involves biometrics as well.
Regan first reported on how the University of Georgia, customs officials at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and companies use your biometric information to verify your identity in 2017.
In theory, it makes it harder for thieves to impersonate you.
But thieves who get their hands on your fingerprints, voiceprints, facial data or other biometrics may be able to use that to access your devices, your accounts, a secure building where you work, and the list goes on.
“We are seeing this trust gap,” said Eva Velasquez, who runs the Identity Theft Resource Center.
The nonprofit released a report recently that found 87% of the people surveyed were asked to provide a biometric identifier in the past year.
91% of those surveyed agreed.
But 63% still had serious concerns about it.
And only 35% trust companies to protect the data as well.
Consumers have questions.
“How the information is being used, how it’s being stored, what else are you doing with it?” said Velasquez.
Biometrics or not, Fountain wants as little of her information out there as possible.
“It can be a big company, and I still think twice about it,” said Fountain.
If you’re worried about sharing your biometric information, read the company’s privacy policy.
If you don’t like what the company is gathering or how they’re using it, see if you can opt out or as a last resort do business with someone else.
And a red flag is if a company contacts you out of the blue.
Walk away and don’t share any personal information including biometrics.
If you’re not sure what to do, ask a nonprofit that helps prevent identity theft.
Resources:
- Identity Theft Resource Center
- Biometrics Institute
- https://www.staysafeonline.org/
- If you fall victim to ID theft
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