Identity theft is a huge problem in the U.S., and it has only gotten worse during the pandemic. Audacious thieves are spending their time in quarantine fraudulently applying for unemployment on others’ behalfs, co-opting tax refunds and wreaking havoc with credit histories and bank accounts. How can you protect yourself from identity theft? With cloud storage from Storage Whale.
Who Are the Victims of Identity Theft?
When you think of victims of identity theft, you may think of the elderly. They’re vulnerable because they are often not well-versed in technology, but also because changes in the brain over time render them less able to make good financial decisions.
Further, U.S. residents over 50 tend to have more money than those under 50, meaning that any type of scam that is successfully run on this segment of the population is likely to provide a bigger payoff. Scammers know this too, and that’s one reason they target seniors.
Seniors also tend to be more naïve and trusting than their younger counterparts. It’s easier to appeal to their kind and giving nature, and they may be more readily convinced to give up critical personal information to a scammer who tells them a sad story.
But it’s far from just seniors who fall victim to identity theft. In fact, no one is immune to identity theft. Many times it’s carried out without any communication between the scammer and the victim. You may not even find out you are a victim of identity theft until you check your bank balance, credit card statement or credit report and notice something is amiss.
When this happens, you have a lengthy, difficult task ahead of you as far as righting the wrong and clearing your name and reputation.
What You Should Do if You Are the Victim of Identity Theft
The very first thing you should do if you suspect you are the victim of identity theft is to call the police and report the crime. Today, this is easier said than done.
The sheer number of people whose identities have been stolen in the name of fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits during the pandemic has overwhelmed many police departments across the U.S. Some are even refusing to make out reports for identity theft because there are just too many. Police who do write up reports have little hope of ever finding the time to bring perpetrators to justice.
Nonetheless, you should still try to file a report, because this can help when you need to dispute charges you haven’t made, accounts you haven’t opened, benefits you have not filed for or a host of other problems. Your police report can prove that you did your best to take action immediately. If your local police department refuses to help you, make a note of the day and time of your request, the officer who refused to help you and other details that may be useful in court.
The second thing you should do it change all your passwords; not just the ones that have been obviously compromised, but all of them. Once thieves are onto you and they start learning more about you, they can find out your other passwords and more of your data will be at risk.
Also, consider freezing or locking your credit report to thwart potential thieves. You can do this even if you haven’t been a victim of identity theft, because it can help you from becoming one.
When you freeze or lock your report, that means that no one can see it without your permission. So if someone tries to open a credit card in your name and the credit card company tries to check your report, they will not be able to and will reject the request to open an account.
What You Can Do to Help Prevent Identity Theft
People who don’t understand cloud computing well might believe that their data is safer on their hard drive than in cloud storage. After all, they know where their hard drive is, but they don’t quite understand where their data is stored when it’s in the cloud. They may wonder what keeps thieves from being able to access data in cloud storage.
At Storage Whale, we work to educate consumers and small businesses about cloud storage. Cloud storage is not some nebulous location that anyone can stumble upon; it’s a third-party storage solution. We have our clients’ data, and we know how to keep it safer than they do.
We provide online file storage, hard drive backup, photo storage and more. We offer personal cloud backup and corporate data backup storage solutions.
When you use Storage Whale, your data will not only be safe with us, but you’ll be able to access it at any time on any device. It’s handy, but it’s also protected.
And it’s not just protected from thieves and hackers, it’s protected from loss as well. If your hard drive melts down or blows up and you don’t have cloud storage, your data is gone. When you use Storage Whale, we can recover your lost data for you.
Best Online Backups for Small Businesses
If you’re a small business, this type of protection is critical to gaining and keeping your clients’ trust. If their data is not safe with you, they likely will not remain your client. Having a good corporate data backup solution is critical to small and large businesses.
For details on cloud backup pricing and how Storage Whale can help you stay safe from identity theft, contact us today.