According to a new report from the Identity theft Resource Center, Americans’ personal data are sought to steal by cyber criminals for their financial gain.
The non -profit group, which focuses on helping the theft victims, said Wednesday that 1,732 data agreements were reported for the first six months of this year, resulting in 165.7 million affected reports.
The number of compromises reported represents an 11 % increase in 2024, when a compromise of 1,567 was reported. In recent yesterday, 1,348 cybertics resulted in data violations, which greatly increases due to other causes such as fashing attacks, renamware and computer viruses.
The ITRC says these numbers do not contain previously compromised data such as login and passwords that were reused and then posted online for share or sale during the period. It notes that they do not possess a new threat against companies or consumers, just a continuation that was already present.
James Lee, president of the group, said in a statement that it is still a “serious threat” to the business because most of the data is logged in and password. “But that also means that people need to take steps to protect them from identity fraud and scams.”
In the first half of this year, 59 % of the 3,155 agreements reported for 2024 were represented, but the number of potentially affected people represented only 12 %. The ITRC says that when the violation continues, there are not the same type of mega -brews that affect hundreds of millions of people who were present last year, which resulted in a decrease.
Financial services and healthcare industries, which are known for their extensive reservoirs of personal and financial consumer data, calculate 387 and 283 agreements respectively in the first half of 2025.
This may be difficult, because if their personal data is exposed in one of their corporate data violations, many cannot do a lot of work, but if you get stuck, you can do some things to reduce the damage.
Here are some points from CNET and ITRC.
How to protect your data
Set great passwords and always use MFA. All your passwords should be long, complex and unique. Need help? Consider the password manager or consider setting up the passengers. Don’t be tempted to recycle old passwords, even if they are very good. And if any of your passwords have been compromised in violation, it immediately. Replace. It should also be said that it should also be known that whenever it is available, the verification of the multi -factor must be activated. If your password is compromised, it will help protect you.
Look for phishing. Data violation that exposes your email and other personal details provides the content to the cybercriminal that they need to produce successful scandal texts, emails, social media messages and even phone calls. And now they have artificial intelligence tools to make them more convinced. Suspect any kind of unprecedented communication and do not give any personal information or money to people or companies you have not reviewed.
Keep an eye on your financial accounts. If you know that your personal information is compromised, keep a close eye on your bank accounts and credit card statements. If there is a big deal, you immediately. Set account alerts to inform.
Freeze your credit. If you are worried that you may be at risk of identifying theft or cheating, freeze your credit with all the big credit bureau. This is not as much pain as you can. In this way, cyber criminals will not be able to use your personal information to work as a credit card or borrowing.
