If scammers know your name and address, they can target you with phishing campaigns, spoofed advertisements, and fake offers. Any information you give them can be used to fully steal your identity.
Call the bank's hot line, usually printed on the back of your bank card, and report the incident. If you have transferred money to a phisher, report the incident to your local police. Inspect your statements carefully for signs of account misuse. Determine if you want to put a lock on your credit records.
There is also a physical way that a criminal could try to scam you using your home address. If a scammer knows your address, they could begin sending you mail to get more information out of you. This could be anything from a fake competition to a phony bank letter.
Scammers can submit a change-of-address form to the USPS in your name. Once processed, your mail will be diverted to the new address. This allows fraudsters to access your bank statements, tax documents, and ID renewals, along with any other items sent to you in the mail.
Can thieves steal identities with only a name and address? In short, the answer is “no.” Which is a good thing, as your name and address are in fact part of the public record. Anyone can get a hold of them. However, because they are public information, they are still tools that identity thieves can use.
It's also possible hackers could use your email account to gain access to your bank account or credit card information, draining funds from an account, or racking up charges. They might even use your email and password to sign up for online sites and services, sticking you with monthly fees in the process.
They could use your: name and address. credit card or bank account numbers. Social Security number.
Address fraud is a type of identity theft that occurs when a fraudster uses someone else's address, or a fake one, to facilitate illegal activities. This can include obtaining credit, goods, or services under false pretenses, or it can be used to facilitate other criminal activities.
Your identity can be stolen.
With access to sensitive information like pay stubs, bank statements, and healthcare details, identity thieves could open new accounts or order a new driver's license, which they can then use for further crimes under your name.
They can steal your identity. They can call banks or service providers and pretend that they are you. They provide your address and phone number as proof, and then try to steal you. They can also target you with Phishing email and calls to extract more information from you and use it against you.
Once scammers know your number, they can target you with phishing texts and calls, or trick you into downloading malware and giving up personal information. And once they gain access to your personally identifiable information (PII), it doesn't take much more to access your financial (and other sensitive) accounts.
Given how much valuable personal data we store online, scammers have a strong incentive to try to steal it. With just a few personal details, they can steal your identity, clean out your bank account, run up credit card bills, or commit crimes in your name.
Door-to-door scammers will knock on your door, offering to sell you a product or service. Their main goal is to get you to pay money. They may use fear as well as concerns about money, living alone, and keeping up a home.
The easiest way to become a victim of a bank scam is to share your banking info — e.g., account numbers, PIN codes, social security number — with someone you don't know well and trust. If someone asks for sensitive banking details, proceed with caution.
Physical Theft: examples of this would be dumpster diving, mail theft, skimming, change of address, reshipping, government records, identity consolidation. Technology-Based: examples of this are phishing, pharming, DNS Cache Poisoning, wardriving, spyware, malware and viruses.
The answer may surprise you – while everyone should be aware of identity theft, children and the elderly are at an especially high risk of becoming victims.
Step 1: Change your passwords
On accounts or devices that contain sensitive information, make sure your password is strong, unique—and not easily guessable. Adding your birthday to your mother's maiden name won't cut it.
If a hacker has your IP address, they could harm you with a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack. A DDoS attack uses an army of computers controlled by a hacker to flood your device with traffic so it disconnects from the internet and completely shuts down. Cybercriminals can frame you for illegal activity.
Just like you wouldn't unthinkingly provide your ID for anyone to see, you should think twice about sharing your email address. Here's what someone could find with just your email address: Your location, friends, and family. A simple Google search of your email address could bring up linked social media accounts.
What to do if a stranger knows my address? Contact your local U.S. Postal Inspection Service office. If you don't know the phone number for the local office, contact the general U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.