Threat Report · 8 min read
How identity thieves turn your exposed data into stolen money
Identity theft rarely starts with a hack. More often, it starts with data that's already public — pieced together until a thief has enough to impersonate you.
The anatomy of a takeover
A thief begins with your name and address from a broker site, adds a breached password from the dark web, and confirms your details with a quick phishing call. With those pieces, they can reset account passwords, open lines of credit, or redirect your mail.
The data that makes it possible
The most dangerous exposures are the ones that answer security questions:
- Date of birth and current address.
- Previous addresses and relatives' names.
- Phone numbers tied to your accounts.
- Email addresses reused across logins.
How to break the chain
You can't change your history, but you can remove it from circulation. Taking your records off broker sites, monitoring breaches, and masking your contact info all remove links from the chain a thief needs to complete.
See where your data is exposed — free.
Run a free scan to find your personal information across 400+ broker sites, then let Periscope remove it.