Identification details aren't so personal these days.
Most Americans -- 81% -- had their personal identification information compromised in at least one data breach in 2023, according to James E. Lee, chief operating officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a California-based nonprofit established to minimize the risk and impact of identity theft and crime. Birth dates, Social Security numbers and other information traditionally thought of as private is no longer exchanged on the "dark web," parts of the internet only accessible with encryption software that obscures devices' IP addresses. Now, people sell personal identification details on popular, public platforms, he said.
"YouTube, TikTok -- pick your platform. That's where they hawk their wares," Lee said. "It is ubiquitous at this point, and they don't even need to hide because there's just so much of them, and we have so much data. The likelihood they'll get caught and prosecuted is very low."
The number of data breaches hit a record in 2023, and is on track to remain elevated in 2024, according to data from the Identity Theft Resource Center. Americans are responding by adopting cybersecurity standards recommended by Lee and his colleagues.
"We've always looked for: At what point will consumers begin to change their habits?" Lee said, citing the results of surveys by the Identity Theft Resource Center. "But this year for the first time, there's two things that we have seen -- finally -- people really beginning to pay attention to."
Surveys indicate a big jump in the number of people using multi-factor authentication and passkey tools, he said.
Read on for details on these and other tips from Lee and Michael Nizich, director of the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center at the New York Institute of Technology:
"Don't look at it anymore as: ugh, they're just making me jump through hoops," Nizich said. "If you can feel comfortable that somebody isn't going to easily acquire any kind of credit, or transfer money or something like that in your name, then it's worth it."