DAYTON — A new study shows that identity thieves are looking at new ways to steal your personal information.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30 p.m., the Identity Theft Resource Center released its 2025 Trends in Identity Theft Report this week.
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“There’s just so much coming at us so fast from so many different places,” James Lee, the President of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said.
The report takes a look at some of the Top Identity Theft Concerns, Fraud, and Scams over the last year.
“The number of data breaches we have every year affecting large groups of individuals, you should always operate under the assumption that your data has been compromised,” Lee said.
Data breaches, like what happened at Kettering Health, are one way people’s personal data gets out there.
“But the reality is, our social security numbers, which we think is the most valuable thing for us to protect, basically have no value to an identity criminal,” Lee said.
Lee said in their latest report, they found that emails and passwords are most valuable, with a 754% increase in reports of account takeovers involving tech accounts.
“If they get a hold of your Gmail password, for example, you may use the same password and log in at home that you do at work, which means they can then attack your business, where you’re employed or where you’re an executive,” Lee said.
They can use that information to wreak havoc, opening new accounts in your name or taking over your existing accounts.
Lee said we have to work harder to keep our passwords both private and unique.
His advice is to use a password manager.
“That way, you’re not reusing the same password on every account. That Password Manager will create a password for you and remember it so you don’t have to,” Lee said.
Lee said it’s all about making our information less useful for the bad guys.
That way, if they do get their hands on it, there’s not much they can do with it.
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