Identity theft is when someone fraudulently uses another person's name and personal information to get credit, obtain loans, make purchases, etc.

If you become a victim of identity theft, change your passwords and login info on compromised online accounts. Notify your credit card companies. File an identity theft report with the relevant governmental authority. Managing these processes can be difficult, confusing, and time-consuming without help. That’s why our identity restoration specialist team that comes with your Avast Secure Identity subscription helps you sort things out after you’ve had your identity stolen.

Nobody can prevent it, but there are many ways to avoid identity theft. This includes using strong passwords and PINs, limiting the amount of personal information you share online, and monitoring your bank statements for suspicious transactions. 
You can also help protect your identity by using a service like our Avast Secure Identity.

You can check if you've become a victim of identity theft by regularly checking your transactions to keep an eye on any you didn't authorize yourself, by monitoring your online accounts, or by performing a hack check to see if your passwords have been leaked online. You can also use an identity protection service like Avast Secure Identity to monitor your social media accounts and the dark web for exposed personal information.

There are many signs that may indicate that your identity has been stolen, and here are a few to look out for: unfamiliar bank transactions, new debts for loans that you never applied for, unfamiliar credit card changes, and unfamiliar medical bills.

Identity fraud occurs when somebody misuses your personal information without your consent for nefarious reasons. This person may open accounts, make purchases, or even commit other kinds of criminal offenses in your name. To help to protect yourself against this, you must take certain day-to-day precautions to help safeguard your sensitive data from threats.

A good example of this is visiting safe websites. You also shouldn’t share your personal data with unverified organizations or strangers you don’t know or recognize. Choosing an identity protection service like Avast Secure Identity can help you to detect potential threats to your identity. If identity theft happens to you, our identity restoration specialists can also help guide you through the restoration process.

Identity theft is when someone acquires your personal information without your knowledge or permission. Identity fraud describes the criminal activities that this person might carry out in your name while using this data to do so. But in reality it could also apply to anybody using your stolen data for their own financial or personal gain. Some specific examples of identity fraud include somebody opening accounts in your name and buying things using your payment details.