Specialist cyber insurance company MyCybercare has introduced MyID, a solution that offers 24/7 surveillance across the public Net, deep Web and dark Net to prevent private or personal information from being stolen and exploited.
MyID provides proactive protection, raising warning flags when it finds suspicious activities.
According to MyCybercare CEO Simon Campbell-Young, ID theft is one of the fastest growing global crimes. “More than 7,1-billion identities have been exposed in data breaches since 2010, a number that is growing daily. Moreover, it takes an average of 201 days to discover that an identity has been stolen.”
He says identity theft has increased by 200% in South Africa over the past six years. “This is an alarming statistic. As is the fact that social media users are at a much higher risk of having their identities compromised. As we spend more and more time online each year, the risks grow exponentially. The risks are real and the scourges rife. These could include credit card fraud, social networking scams, ransomware, and identify theft.”
However, of these, he believes identify theft is the most damaging, as its effects are long lasting. “Unfortunately, the sheer amount of personal information we share online is making ID theft child’s play for clever cyber criminals. It is simply too easy, and that is why it is becoming such a pervasive threat.”
He says in essence, ID theft is taking and using an individual’s personal information in order to impersonate them, steal from their bank accounts, set up false policies, open unauthorised credit cards, or apply for unauthorised loans. “However, that’s not all. Cyber criminals could also use a stolen ID to rent a home, take out a bond, apply for a job, or even to catfish people over the Internet.”
It can also take years to recover from ID theft. Credit records are tarnished, no loans or bonds can be applied for, and often victims battle to find a job. “It’s far better to prevent ID theft, or at least minimise the damage in the event that it does occur.”
Campbell-Young says this is why MyCybercare introduced MyID. “It’s very simple. Users simply need to choose the data they want to be secured, and register any information such as credit card numbers, email addresses or persona IDs that they would like MyID to monitor.”
Once done, the user can initiate an Internet-wide data search, and MyID will perform a historical check for any old breaches and will then continue to search around the clock, all year round for any sign of the user’s secured information. “If MyID detects that secure data is available in the wrong online forum, the system will immediately send the user a warning along with a recommended course of action to secure your information.”
MyID comes in several packages. R49 annually covers one email address and one ID number. For R24 a month, users can cover two email addresses, one ID number, and one mobile number. R49 monthly will get users coverage for five email addresses, ID numbers and mobile numbers. R36 per month covers three email addresses, one ID number, two mobile numbers and three credit card numbers. Finally, R69 a month will cover 10 email addresses, five ID numbers, five mobile numbers and 10 credit card numbers.