50 Ways to Protect Your Identity in a Digital Age: New Financial Threats You Need to Know and How to Avoid Them, Second Edition

12. The Dangers of Data Breaches

Identity theft depends on the security of your personal information. When you provide this information to an identity thief as a result of a phishing scam, you set yourself up for a disastrous identity theft experience. Unfortunately, just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so is the security of your personal information and, in turn, your identity only as safe as the security of the many places that have and store your personal information. Identity thieves are well aware of this and often find it simpler and more effective to hack into companies and institutions that store large amounts of personal information on a great many people. Being aware of this threat should both make you more hesitant ...