Digital technology has transformed our lives and given us numerous new opportunities from remote working, studying from the comfort of our own home to online shopping.  While we wish we could say everything digital technology and the internet brought to our lives is amazing, unfortunately that wouldn't be true. With the rise of digital technology, cyber attacks are also rising and becoming a constant presence in our lives. Who doesn't receive at least one email a day whose sole purpose is to exploit your confidential data for malicious purposes? Luckily, the spam settings of your email provider are keeping most of those emails away from you. Still,  the real question remains, what are you doing to protect yourself?

Type of fraudulent activity that can cause most damage, financial and reputational, for an individual is called account takeover fraud. With this type of fraud cyber criminals gain access to user accounts by using stolen confidential data. This account can be anything from email, ecommerce website, social media to bank account, which they will use for their financial gain either by using it or by selling your data on dark web. SEON's guide for account takeover fraud suggests that account takeover can lead to all of your accounts being in jeopardy as most people either use similar passwords for all accounts or they even reuse them.

What can fraudsters do with my account?

You might be wondering why would fraudsters even want your account, as you don't believe you have nothing of importance for them. Truth is that fraudsters can find financial gain everywhere and your account can be used for numerous purposes you are not even aware off, all of which can have disastrous consequences on your life:

• Use your confidential data to breach all of your other accounts.
• Steal your identity
• Sell your stolen identity on dark web
• Open a new bank account in your name
• Order a new credit card from your credit card company
• Apply for a loan
• Use it to conduct ecommerce fraud
• Use it to buy gift cards
• Launch a phishing attack
• Use it to test stolen credit cards.

We could go on and on, as possibilities are endless and fraudsters just keep thinking of new ideas. As you can see account takeover fraud is not limited to just one aspect of victims life which is why everyone should be proactive in taking necessary steps to prevent it.

How to prevent account takeover fraud?

Account takeover fraud can be difficult to discover because cybercriminals are experienced in covering their actions because they want to exploit your account for as long as they can. By following the next steps you can reduce the risk of account takeover fraud affecting your life.

Be observant: Fraudsters sometimes raise red flags that can get overlooked as people are not expecting an attack. By following ScamWatch’s warning signs, like suspicious login alert or emails asking you to change your account details or even noticing unauthorized transactions on your bank account statement, you can stop the attack before it does any further damage.

Use unique passwords for all of your accounts: Passwords are a key to your account and by using simple, easily guessed passwords or reusing them you are giving that key to the fraudsters. By using unique and complex passwords you will make the job a lot harder for fraudsters that try to take over your account. It might be difficult to remember all of these passwords, but this is where you can utilize password manager programs.

Be careful with what you click: Do not click on any links in emails if you do not expect that email, especially if you don't know the email sender or it comes from suspicious web pages. It is always better to be suspicious and go through your browser to access a legitimate website than to fall victim to a cyber attack.

Use common sense: A lot of different cyber attacks exploit people's naivety and trust to get access to their confidential data, like social engineering attacks or phishing. By using common sense in deciding who you should give your confidential details to, which link is ok to click and which one seems suspicious or even which website seems fraudulent, you can significantly reduce the risks.