Scammers’ Information Gathering Tactics Uncovered

Every year, American citizens lose billions of dollars to scammers. At the heart of these operations is the victims’ data. Fraudsters have different tactics for collecting different types of personally identifiable information, including your credit card and banking details, name, address, and Social Security Number. Because anyone can fall victim to their scams, you should understand how they gather this data so you can protect yourself.

Have you ever received an email or text from a legitimate company like a bank without requesting it? That might have been a phishing attack. Scammers know these companies send legitimate emails all the time and try to take advantage of that fact to trick you into clicking malicious links, downloading malicious files, or giving away details like your username, password, or banking information.

This data typically ends up in the hands of data brokers who sell it to different entities to use however they like. While it may seem like there is nothing you can do once they have this data, you can follow data brokers opt out guides to get them to remove your data. Alternatively, you can use the data removal service provided by companies like Incogni which will request data brokers to remove the data on your behalf.

Social Engineering

Social engineering is about psychological manipulation. Scammers leverage your sense of urgency, trust, and fears to get you to share crucial information. A common tactic is pretending to be a tech support person or someone from the government and telling you that if you do not take action, you will lose a lot of money or be arrested.

Once they have made you understand the bogus consequences, they try to pressure you to take action immediately, which often entails providing important personal information.

Hacking and Data Breaches

The number of data breaches has increased in the past few years as malicious actors have continued to target organizations that store massive volumes of user data. These include email providers, banks, online retailers, and other entities that store such data. Once they steal it, they sell it on the dark web or to marketing companies, data brokers, and anyone else who would benefit from it.

Malware

Malware (malicious software) can be installed on your computer or other devices through infected websites, malicious downloads, or phishing emails. Once installed and active, it can quietly collect and send your data to a server controlled by a malicious party. The malware can also track all your activity or hijack your device and use it in additional attacks.

Social Media

The original aim of social media was to connect people with their friends and loved ones. To achieve this, these platforms ask users to submit information about themselves. Under typical use, people post a lot of details about themselves and their lives on these platforms. Because much of this information is publicly accessible, social media has become a goldmine for scammers. If your account is private, they can still create fake accounts that look legitimate enough to connect with you and gain access to your private posts.

Your data has become incredibly valuable in the digital economy. This is the primary reason malicious actors do everything they can to gain access to it. They use different methods to do this, some that you can protect yourself from, like phishing attacks, and ones you might not know about, like data breaches. Regardless, you should always protect yourself and try to get the data brokers who buy this data to remove it with the help of a data removal service.