{"id":20286,"date":"2022-02-23T02:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T07:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/?p=20286"},"modified":"2026-06-23T12:39:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T16:39:52","slug":"identity-theft-survivor-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Has your email or social networks ever been hacked before?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

You may not think that having your identity stolen will happen to you, but a survey PSafe conducted<\/a> shows that 2 out of 5 respondents have been a victim of identity theft.<\/p>\r\n

Identity Theft Makes All of Us Vulnerable<\/h3>\r\n

The reality is the online actions of hackers has a real-life impact on YOU. Our survey uncovered some disturbing data.<\/p>\r\n

The top 3 areas where people were affected fall under the main 3 things that people use every day, day and night.<\/p>\r\n

Email accounts<\/strong> \u2013 47% were hacked.<\/p>\r\n

Phone number<\/strong> \u2013 45% were stolen.<\/p>\r\n

Social network logins<\/strong> \u2013 43% had their accounts taken over.<\/p>\r\n

Not to leave out other instances of identity theft, victims are deeply impacted financially as well.<\/p>\r\n

31% had credit cards details taken<\/strong> and used to buy unauthorized goods or services. While 30% discovered their bank or debit card was compromised<\/strong> and fraudulent withdrawals took place.<\/p>\r\n

If you\u2019re worried about card-related fraud, you may also want to read our guide on whether tap-to-pay cards can be cloned<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Overall, this type of cybercrime is increasing at alarming rates. On a projected basis, there are 42MM victims of identity theft.<\/p>\r\n

Why You Should Care<\/h3>\r\n

It\u2019s easy to be complacent and feel confident you\u2019ll never be a victim of identity theft. In fact, general assumptions are out there about this type of cybercrime, which lulls many into a false sense of untouchability.<\/p>\r\n

However, let\u2019s dispel some myths about identity theft:<\/p>\r\n

Myth #1<\/strong> \u2013 Only people with weak passwords get hacked and taken advantage of.<\/p>\r\n

Truth:<\/strong> Weaker passwords are more vulnerable, yes. However, some hackers do employ sophisticated methods to crack passwords, which is why it\u2019s wise to change your passwords every few months, not once every 5 years.<\/p>\r\n

Myth #2<\/strong> \u2013 The problem is automatically solved by changing the password of the hacked account.<\/p>\r\n

Truth:<\/strong> Information is like currency. Once a hacker gets a hold of an email login, that login is a potential to all of your personal information (full name, address, phone number, credit cards, social media accounts) which can be used to commit financial or identity fraud in your name.<\/p>\r\n

Myth #3<\/strong> \u2013 Only the older generation naively click on random links and falls prey to identity theft.<\/p>\r\n

Truth:<\/strong> Crime does not discriminate! All ages and genders can be fooled. One method hackers use is taking over one of your logins, either an email or social media account, and impersonating you to launch a social engineering attack against your friends and family.<\/p>\r\n

The survey PSafe conducted included survivor stories and the brutal reality is having your credit score or social security number tampered with has severe fallout, even lasting several years to clear your name or restore your credit standing.<\/p>\r\n

Read some victims stories:<\/p>\r\n

Fight Back With Identity Theft Monitoring<\/h3>\r\n

The above victims\u2019 stories show that identity theft can happen to anyone; at any time. dfndr security is your preventative measure against this insidious crime.<\/p>\r\n

Just as you would lock the front door of your house against physical thieves, dfndr security<\/strong> has a new feature called, Identity Theft Monitoring, solely designed to be your \u201clock\u201d against online thieves.<\/p>\r\n

Identity Theft Monitoring<\/strong> is your stop-gap for preventing identity theft. Activating its functions can help you stop a tidal wave of financial, emotional, and mental pain.<\/p>\r\n

How Does Identity Theft Monitoring Work?<\/h3>\r\n

The Identity Theft Monitoring<\/strong> feature<\/strong> is a fully developed protector of your identity details. We alert you on data leaks, let you know if your accounts are affected, and offer help on what to do if one of your email accounts is compromised. Here is a complete breakdown:<\/p>\r\n

24-Hour Monitoring<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

We monitor your credentials 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To activate this, register your email accounts and whenever there is any suspicious activity concerning your personal data, you\u2019ll immediately receive a notification by email.<\/p>\r\n

Weekly Status Reports<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Every week, you\u2019ll receive a complete report on the security status of your registered accounts. This means you\u2019ll have total control of your data on the internet.<\/p>\r\n

Data Breach Alerts<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

If your data is violated and compromised, you\u2019ll receive real-time alerts via email with the details of the leak and what to do to resolve the problem. We are always looking out for your personal information.<\/p>\r\n

To add an extra layer of protection to your phone, download dfndr security on Google Play.<\/p>\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

*Fictitious images were used to preserve the identity of victims.<\/p>\r\n

Did you want to see all the survey results? Read them here<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learn about the devastating impact of having your identity stolen and what to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":20713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12301],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive-news"],"yoast_head":"\nIdentity Theft: Survivor Stories - PSafe Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about the devastating impact of having your identity stolen and what to do if it happens to you.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories - PSafe Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn about the devastating impact of having your identity stolen and what to do if it happens to you.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PSafe Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-23T07:11:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-23T16:39:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/2.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"374\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeannie Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jeannie Mark\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4b5ad40983b7c2415fcb9f5e43edd8a1\"},\"headline\":\"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-23T07:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-23T16:39:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":748,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/2.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Exclusive News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/\",\"name\":\"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories - PSafe Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/2.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-23T07:11:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-23T16:39:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4b5ad40983b7c2415fcb9f5e43edd8a1\"},\"description\":\"Learn about the devastating impact of having your identity stolen and what to do if it happens to you.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/2.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":374},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"In\u00edcio\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"PSafe Blog\",\"description\":\"Articles and news about Mobile Security, Android, Apps, Social Media and Technology in general.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4b5ad40983b7c2415fcb9f5e43edd8a1\",\"name\":\"Jeannie Mark\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/95d5a30c79356455aba7b558cea929c18f70e1cb0fb2b86a51f4d904a05a143d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/95d5a30c79356455aba7b558cea929c18f70e1cb0fb2b86a51f4d904a05a143d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/95d5a30c79356455aba7b558cea929c18f70e1cb0fb2b86a51f4d904a05a143d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeannie Mark\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.psafe.com\\\/en\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/jeannie-mark\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories - PSafe Blog","description":"Learn about the devastating impact of having your identity stolen and what to do if it happens to you.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories - PSafe Blog","og_description":"Learn about the devastating impact of having your identity stolen and what to do if it happens to you.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/","og_site_name":"PSafe Blog","article_published_time":"2022-02-23T07:11:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-23T16:39:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":374,"url":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/2.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jeannie Mark","twitter_misc":{"Written by":false,"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/"},"author":{"name":"Jeannie Mark","@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4b5ad40983b7c2415fcb9f5e43edd8a1"},"headline":"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories","datePublished":"2022-02-23T07:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-23T16:39:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/"},"wordCount":748,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/2.png","articleSection":["Exclusive News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/","url":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/","name":"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories - PSafe Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/2.png","datePublished":"2022-02-23T07:11:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-23T16:39:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4b5ad40983b7c2415fcb9f5e43edd8a1"},"description":"Learn about the devastating impact of having your identity stolen and what to do if it happens to you.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/2.png","width":800,"height":374},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/identity-theft-survivor-stories\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"In\u00edcio","item":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Identity Theft: Survivor Stories"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/","name":"PSafe Blog","description":"Articles and news about Mobile Security, Android, Apps, Social Media and Technology in general.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/4b5ad40983b7c2415fcb9f5e43edd8a1","name":"Jeannie Mark","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95d5a30c79356455aba7b558cea929c18f70e1cb0fb2b86a51f4d904a05a143d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95d5a30c79356455aba7b558cea929c18f70e1cb0fb2b86a51f4d904a05a143d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95d5a30c79356455aba7b558cea929c18f70e1cb0fb2b86a51f4d904a05a143d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeannie Mark"},"url":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/author\/jeannie-mark\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20286"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21473,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20286\/revisions\/21473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}