Account Take Over
Stay a step ahead of the scammers. Educate yourself on some of the most common frauds and scams.
What is account takeover?
The definition of account takeover is when a fraudster uses someone's personal information to take over their online accounts. Once in, they can roam free in the account environment and make purchases, change passwords and make changes to personal information.
How criminals get usernames and passwords:
Dark Web: Purchase of data through data breach marketplaces on the dark web.
Phishing: Directly from the consumer using malware or via phishing
Hacking: Hackers use bots to test different credential combinations on multiple sites to gain access.
Tips to protect yourself from an account take over.
Use strong passwords. It’s important that each of your online accounts has a strong, unique and complicated password. Enable two-or multi-factor authentication when it’s available.
Monitor your account. Check your account for unfamiliar or suspicious transactions, or if there is any newly saved shipping or credit card information.
Carefully guard your personal information. Secure your social security number and bank account numbers. Shred all paper documents that contain this information. Never give out passwords or personal information to an unsolicited caller, or in response to an email or text message, even if it sounds or looks legitimate. Verizon will never proactively contact a customer asking for sensitive information such as a password, account PIN or to perform authentication.
Read article on how to secure your email accounts
Read article on how to secure your My Verizon account and device