Identity scams are at an all-time high. Here are ways to protect yourself

cnbc.com:

Identity crime involving government benefits, social media accounts and other scams jumped by 36% in 2021 to an all-time high, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.

The good news is that there are several ways individuals can protect themselves.

About 15,000 people reported an identity-related crime or attempted fraud in 2021, up from roughly 11,000 in 2020, according to the ITRC, which published a recent analysis based on internal data. Incidents have increased by 49% since 2015.

That annual growth mirrors trends in overall fraud tracked by the Federal Trade Commission. Consumers reported 5.9 million total scams to the federal agency in 2021, a 20% increase compared with 2020. Identity theft was the top culprit, accounting for more than 1.4 million complaints.

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Since the beginning of 2020, consumers have lost about $886 million in fraud specifically linked to Covid-19, as criminals have leveraged the pandemic to steal from online shoppers and in other forums, according to FTC data through Aug. 30.

Scams involving government benefits like unemployment assistance also surged during the pandemic, for example. In such instances, criminals used consumers' personal data — much of it stolen in past data breaches — to file for unemployment benefits in others' names.

«That was a huge driver of a lot of the fraud» last year, according to Eva Velasquez, chief executive of the ITRC.

Because unemployment benefits are taxable, victims often discover the fraud during tax season and must take steps to rectify