Account Hijacking: Protecting Your Digital Identity

Adults today have created around 150 online accounts, but are only using a handful. LinkedIn has over 900 million accounts since its launch in 2003, with the majority (two-thirds) now abandoned. This may help explain why account takeovers increased by 282% between 2019 and 2021, according to Microsoft’s own Security Intelligence Report.

The trouble is that fraudsters know that taking over these older, established accounts is easier and more valuable than creating new ones. This is known as account “hijacking,” and at first, it might seem impossible to prevent.

An independent identity allows you to confirm and leverage your digital profiles to build credibility while maintaining control even when you’re done with them. Since there can be only one property owner, fraudsters cannot take over or reuse your accounts-locking them down ensures they can’t be exploited.

Your Digital Properties Are Yours Alone

Online, every account you use is a digital property. If you need a password to access it, that property belongs to you. We can confirm and connect these links and profiles so that others trust who we are.

This public identity profile displays the links and profiles you want others to see, and this privatized visibility makes you trusted with far greater confidence than a physical ID alone.

But There’s More

A study by Shape Security found 90% of login attempts on e-commerce platforms are from hackers trying to take over accounts. This shows how prevalent and widespread these attacks have become.

Using TruAnon, we separate the identity portion out of the accounts you use, control and ownership remain with you, even if the service changes hands.

Through a private dashboard, you can lock down your digital properties. Since each property has a single owner, fraudsters can’t reuse these accounts because they remain securely connected to your identity.

Those of us who are old enough, might have accounts on Friendster, we later moved to MySpace and still later, to Facebook. There may be a day when these services are bought or sold, or when you no longer have interest and this creates abandoned accounts that can violate your privacy and contribute to internet crime.

True Crimes, True Criminals

Cybercriminals use credential stuffing, which involves trying millions of stolen username and password combinations, to hijack accounts. This method is highly effective due to the common practice of password reuse.

An astonishing 30% of password phishing emails get opened, and 12% of those end up providing credentials, leading to account takeovers, according to Verizon’s most recent Data Breach Investigations Report.

Hijacked accounts are responsible for nearly endless streams of scams and profile fraud that plague services and their members around the globe, everyday.

Once an account is hijacked, it can take months to fully recover from the damage, with victims often suffering long-term consequences such as identity theft and continued unauthorized access.

Your Identity Is Secured By Keeping It Separate From Your Online Accounts

Your identity is centrally controlled with respectful separation, locking each linked account to you. This ensures that no one else can take over or misuse your accounts because they can’t access your identity.

This approach also protects your privacy. Even if a service is hacked, your identity remains safe, separate, and under your control. Fraudsters cannot change or remove this visible connection.

When you’re done with an account, you can mark it as inactive or turn it off remotely, ensuring it can never be misused.

Your legacy of accounts continues to build confidence in your identity. The longer your digital footprint, the stronger the proof that you are who you claim to be. This visibility deters fraudsters, who appear as untrusted outliers.

The average cost of an account takeover is around $12,000 per incident, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. This includes remediation, lost business, and reputation damage.

Join a trusted circle of services that offer a privacy-conscious alternative to traditional verification, and put an end to account hijacking today.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.