Therefore, always be careful if the person you are talking to asks you for a copy of your ID. If sending an ID card cannot be avoided, you can also add a watermark to it.

Copies of ID are required for many transactions on the Internet - for example when looking for an apartment, opening an account, at an online bank or when concluding a mobile phone contract. Criminals take advantage of this and try to obtain copies of ID cards in various ways. We'll show you the most common stitches.

Fraudulent market research institutes

There are different tricks criminals can use to obtain other people's identities. A popular scam is to use market research institutes or survey platforms that search for their victims using job advertisements. The promise is simple and uncomplicated additional income - by answering surveys or testing apps. The participants in this survey are told that they should test whether a certain identification procedure for opening an account with an online bank works well. But instead of getting money for it, a bank account is actually opened in the victims' names. It is reasonable to suspect that money laundering is being carried out using these bank accounts.

In the articles appdoctor.me surveys lead to money laundering in your name! or “Behave as if you were opening a real bank account” we explain the scam in more detail. We also discuss this scam in the following video:

Fraudulent job postings

But it's not just job advertisements for taking part in surveys or testing apps that can lead to identity theft. Regardless of whether you are applying to be a childcare worker or want to work at a Christmas market: If the alleged employers ask for ID when applying, you should be careful.

The Watchlist Internet is aware of cases in which the application did not lead to a job, but to blackmail - we explain how in the articles Application as a childcare worker leads to blackmail and job advertisement as a Christmas helper leads to identity theft .

Phishing emails

Classic phishing messages are also a way for fraudsters to obtain copies of ID cards. An example of such a phishing attempt is explained in the following video:

Criminals sent fictitious emails in the name of Airbnb to numerous customers. It claimed that the account had been blocked and that copies of the ID card, selfies with the ID next to the face and a handwritten note were now required to unlock the account. In fact, the email came from criminals who were just looking for as many copies of ID as possible. Other companies such as PayPal have also been abused for this purpose. In the article Identity theft with a fake PayPal message we explain how such a phishing attempt works.

Classifieds fraud

Victims' identities can also be stolen in the area of ​​private shopping. The fraudsters offer various goods on classified ad platforms. If a victim comes forward, the exact purchase process will be discussed and a copy of their ID will then be requested. The criminals justify their request for a copy of their ID by saying, for example, that they have already had bad experiences selling goods and want to protect themselves from criminal buyers. As soon as the alleged sellers have a copy of their victims' ID, it is no longer possible to contact them.

A similar scam is also used when looking for an apartment. If searchers look around classifieds portals, it may happen that – in addition to other documents – a copy of their ID is also required. The supposed landlords explain in the fraudulent advertisements that proof of identity also increases the chance of getting the apartment in question.

How do you protect yourself from identity theft?

The list of the various scams that criminals use to obtain identities and copies of ID cards shows that this fraud is very diverse. The problem is that it can happen that you have to prove your identity online using a copy of your ID. However, you should always consider how understandable the request for a copy of your ID is.

When buying privately or for job advertisements, sending a passport or something similar is rather unusual and should therefore be a cause for concern. However, it can certainly happen that Airbnb or other internet service providers require ID. In these cases, however, communication should take place as usual via the platform itself. To be on the safe side, the copy of your ID can be changed so that fraudsters cannot do anything with it:

When buying privately or for job advertisements, sending a passport or something similar is rather unusual and should therefore be a cause for concern. However, it can certainly happen that Airbnb or other internet service providers require ID. In these cases, however, communication should take place as usual via the platform itself. To be on the safe side, the copy of your ID can be changed so that fraudsters cannot do anything with it:

  • Add a watermark: You can add a watermark to ID cards using an image editing program. This watermark is intended to provide information that it is a copy, what purpose the copy serves, who it is intended for and when it was created.
  • Black out information: Every ID card contains information that is not needed by the other person. This includes, for example, the ID number or the signature. You can make this information illegible by placing a black bar over it using an image editing program.

If you have already been a victim of identity theft, you should definitely file a criminal complaint with the police. If crimes are committed in your name, the authorities already know. You should also check regularly whether there are any unusual entries about you on the Internet.

Source: Watchlist-Internet
Article image: Shutterstock / Dean Drobot


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