Identity thieves may take advantage of data breaches or use targeted attacks to steal personal and financial details. It's common for fraudsters to swipe information in the physical world too, by dumpster diving, shoulder surfing, or planting skimming devices. Here's the good news: if you know what identity thieves are up to, you’ll have a leg up.
Identity thieves don’t always rely on just one method to get your information. Some might steal your data through breaches or account takeovers. Others might impersonate a organization to convince you to hand it over. And some still rely on old-school tactics like stealing physical mail.
Understanding all the ways your information can be exposed can help you protect it and act quickly when something goes wrong. Plus, features like credit monitoring alerts and dark web monitoring can help you stay aware of potential exposure and take action if your information falls into the wrong hands.
Data breaches
Unfortunately, data breaches and their fallout have become all too common. With incidents happening so often, it’s understandable that some people experience “breach fatigue.”
But it’s still important to pay attention. If your personal or financial information is made public in a data breach, cybercriminals might find it and put it up for sale on the dark web. From there, your details could be used to commit fraud or identity theft. Or, your information could be blended with other victims’ information to create a brand-new false identity, a type of fraud known as synthetic identity theft.
Data breaches can happen in many ways, from attacks that exploit software vulnerabilities to stolen credentials and social engineering. People still play a big role in how breaches happen. According to Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report, 62 percent of breaches involved a human element, including things like social engineering, mistakes, misuse, and stolen credentials.
Cyberattacks aren’t limited to big corporations, either. That’s one reason it’s important to keep tabs on the places where your data is stored, including businesses and services where you have an account.
Phishing and impersonation scams
Phishing and impersonation scams are designed to convince you to share information, send money, or give someone access to your accounts. A scammer may pretend to be your bank, a government agency, a retailer, your employer, or another trusted organization.
And these scams aren't limited to email. They can reach people through phone calls, texts, email, social media, search results, and other channels. Scammers may ask for sensitive information such as your Social Security number, bank account credentials, password, or one-time security code.
In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says nearly one in three fraud reports in 2025 involved an imposter scam, making it the most reported fraud category that year. Consumers reported losing $3.5 billion to imposter scams.
With AI in the mix, you can’t rely solely on obvious spelling mistakes or poor design to tell whether something is a scam. Instead, pay attention to what you’re being asked to do. Be cautious if someone pressures you to act quickly, send money, share sensitive information, or provide a security code.
Oversharing online
Unfortunately, oversharing on social media can reveal more than you intended. Take that first-day-of-school pic you snapped of your kiddos on the front porch. Is your house number visible in the background? If so, the safest bet is not to share, as your street address is considered personally identifiable information (PII).
Similarly, it’s not advisable to post from your vacation—or even from a restaurant—in real time. When you share your location, you’re also sharing the fact that you’re not at home, which can make you a target for theft.
There’s something else to consider. Everything you share online accumulates over time as part of your digital footprint. As your footprint grows, identity thieves may have more opportunities to get your information.
To limit what's publicly available, consider adjusting your privacy settings to control who can see your information on social media. Think twice before accepting friend or follow requests from people you don't know, and be thoughtful about the personal information you make public.
SIM card swaps
A SIM swap happens when a criminal gets your mobile phone number transferred to a device they control. Sometimes criminals accomplish this by impersonating the account holder and convincing a mobile carrier to make the transfer. If the swap is successful, the criminal may be able to receive calls and text messages intended for you, including security codes sent by text.
Possible warning signs include unexpectedly losing cellular service or receiving notifications about account or device changes you didn't request.
When an account offers other authentication methods, such as an authenticator app or security key, consider using those instead of security codes sent by text.
Identity theft in the physical world
While some identity thieves have adopted sophisticated tactics for mining data digitally, others steal information the old-fashioned way: in the physical world.
Here are a few examples:
Dumpster diving: Criminals are known to dig through trash in search of sensitive information. So be careful about what you throw in the recycling bin—and shred sensitive documents if they're no longer needed.
Mail theft: Stealing physical mail is a tried-and-true tactic that’s still used by identity thieves today. To deter any would-be snoops, consider purchasing a mailbox with a lock and ask your postal service to hold your mail whenever you’re out of town.
Shoulder surfing: A fraudster might spy over your shoulder any time you're in a public place, so be aware of your surroundings and never let your guard down—especially when you’re at an ATM or in a checkout line, for example.
Skimming: This pervasive and often hard-to-detect technique happens when fraudsters leave skimming devices attached to the credit-card processor at legitimate businesses. When you swipe your card, the skimmer reads the magnetic strip and stores your card number. Then, whoever planted the device can then use your credit card or sell the information to a third party.
Shimming: Similar to skimming, this is when criminals insert a tiny microchip into an ATM or card reader with the aim of stealing and storing your information.
You have a partner in identity protection
Your personal information is valuable, which is why protecting it and knowing when something may be wrong matters. While no security measure can prevent every type of identity theft, monitoring your information and strengthening your online accounts can help reduce your risk.
If your information is exposed or you experience identity theft, you don't have to figure out what to do next on your own. Allstate Identity Protection members have access to specialists who can help them understand what happened and guide them through the recovery process.
