More than 60,000 stolen digital identities were discovered for sale in 2019 on the Dark Web, according to a survey by cybersecurity specialist Kaspersky Lab.
A goldmine for identity thieves!
Although few figures exist on the subject, a 2009 Crédoc survey nevertheless estimated that more than 210,000 people are victims of this crime each year in France.
And with the current increasing digitization, the phenomenon is getting worse.
The 2022 report from online identity verification company Onfido shows a 44% increase in fraud since 2019.
Pandora's box
Whereas previously you had to dread only bin diggers, hackers, online phishing but also voice and SMS phishers now constitute so many varied means to get your hands on your name, your postal address, your e- email, your passwords or your bank access.
And once in possession of this sensitive data, the usurper can easily use your identity to take out consumer credit with impunity that he will never repay, obtain a rental contract for which he can refrain from paying the rent before decamp or even chain traffic offenses while you receive the fines…
The financial consequences of identity theft can therefore be very serious, especially if these misdeeds lead to your filing for payment incidents at the Banque de France!
Gather evidence
Unexplained transactions have been made on your bank account?
Your credit card has been blocked for no apparent reason?
Have you received reminders for a loan that you never contracted?
Have you been refused a loan when you are solvent?
Have you discovered a PV that does not correspond to your movements?
Can't log in to your social media accounts anymore?
A notification informed you of a change in your password?
All of these strange situations are red flags that may indicate identity theft!
You must then react without delay to protect yourself.
Start by checking these inconsistencies, identify illicit activities on your accounts, consult the connection history of your online accounts (email, social networks, etc.), speak directly to the administrations and sites whose you are supposed to have modified passwords, also make screenshots of fake profiles created in your name… In short, gather as much evidence as possible!
Your steps
File a complaint as soon as possible with a police station or the gendarmerie, providing your investigations in support of your case.
Then notify the banks in which you are a customer in order to oppose the illicit transactions, as well as the credit organizations which claim refunds from you to inform them of your identity theft, always providing a copy of the complaint.
In order to determine the extent of the fraud, you can also send a request by post to the National Commission for Computing and Liberties (Cnil) to find out the complete list of accounts opened in your name and which are listed in the bank account file (Ficoba).
Our "CYBERCRIMINALITY" file
Finally, contact the Banque de France – at the counter or on the online service Accueil.banque-france.fr – to find out if you have been registered.
If this is not the case, it will be necessary to redo the verification regularly.
If so, you can submit a request for identity theft so that a warning notice is placed on your file.
However, to remove the file, you will have to make a request to the banks that registered you there, which is often long and painful since it will be up to you to prove that you are the victim and not the person responsible.
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Respond well in case of identity theft
Good reflexes
We can never remind you enough, you should never communicate personal documents to third parties who act by e-mail or telephone, vary passwords and destroy sensitive documents before throwing them away.
In addition, do not send rental documents to anyone before the site visit to avoid false advertisements.
And in the event of theft or loss of your identity papers, file a complaint and have your documents redone quickly.
In the event of usurpation, you can thus more easily prove that it is not about you.
Do not hesitate to contact the Info Escroqueries service on 0 805 805 817 (free) or to inquire on Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr and on Particuliers.banque-france.fr for your procedures.
The France Victimes association can also help you on 116 006 (free call).
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