What Is a Browser Hijacker?
A browser hijacker is a type of malware that infects an internet browser. When your Internet browser becomes infected, it’s done without your knowledge or consent so you may not even notice it’s there until it’s...
Updated on February 7, 2024.
You need to protect yourself from doxxing attacks as they can lead to physical harm, damaged reputation and identity theft. You can protect yourself from being doxxed by using a password manager, cleaning up your digital footprint, using a VPN, not oversharing on social media and removing yourself from people search websites.
Keep reading to learn more about doxxing, the dangers of doxxing and how to prevent someone from doxxing you.
Doxxing, also spelled doxing, is when a threat actor steals and publishes a victim’s Personally Identifiable Information (PII) online. This can include publishing a target’s home address, credit or debit card numbers, place of work, email address and other sensitive information online without their permission. Threat actors use doxxing to get revenge against someone, extort them for money, troll them for entertainment or harass them.
Typically, doxxing starts due to some personal reason such as an online argument or dislike towards someone. When the threat actor decides to dox someone, they will research their target to find as much information they can about them. They will search online to find any information they can such as on people search websites or the target’s social media. Some threat actors will execute cyber attacks such as phishing to steal sensitive data from the target.
Once the threat actor has gathered all of the information they need, they can use it to attack the victim. These attacks can vary in severity from online harassment to physical harm.
Doxxing typically begins with a disagreement before progressing to one person gathering information about an adversary. Doxxing attacks can be as harmless as bogus email sign-ups or pizza deliveries, or as dangerous as physically assaulting a person’s family or employer, swatting, identity theft or other types of cyberbullying. Here are some of the dangerous effects of doxxing.
Identity theft is when someone uses a victim’s PII without their permission to impersonate them and commit fraud. Doxxing can often lead to identity theft depending on the information that was exposed. If a victim’s sensitive information was exposed in a doxxing attack, such as their Social Security number or bank account information, cybercriminals can use that information to apply for loans under their name, receive their medical and financial benefits, file their tax return and commit crimes under their name.
Doxxing can lead to cyberstalking in which a threat actor stalks a victim online. The threat actor uses technology to monitor the victim’s activities and locations, often threatening their safety. Some threat actors will harass the victims by sending them unwanted and threatening messages. Sometimes, cyberstalking goes beyond the online space and can progress into real-life stalking. If the threat actor gets a hold of your physical location, they can stalk and physically threaten or attack you.
Doxxing can often damage your reputation. If personal information such as private photos or messages are exposed from doxxing, it can damage your reputation with your friends, family and employer. Sometimes, threat actors will use your personal information to create falsified information about you to make you look bad.
Depending on the information exposed from doxxing, cybercriminals can use the revealed information to target you for future cyber attacks. For example, if your phone number or email address was exposed through doxxing, cybercriminals can use that information to send you phishing emails and text messages. They use these cyber attacks to gain access and steal more sensitive information such as your bank account information or Social Security number.
To protect yourself from falling victim to doxxing, you need to protect your information online and prevent cybercriminals from stealing it. Here are some tips to secure your information online and protect yourself from doxxing.
Cybercriminals will try to compromise your online accounts which they can use to gather your personal information. You need to use strong and unique passwords to protect your online accounts from cybercriminals trying to steal and expose your personal information. A password manager will help you generate strong passwords using its built-in password generator.
A password manager is a tool that securely stores and manages your personal information in a digital encrypted vault. You can store sensitive information in your password manager such as your login credentials, IDs, Social Security numbers and important documents. With a password manager, the sensitive information stored in your digital vault can only be accessed using your master password, protecting it from unauthorized access.
A password manager also helps ensure your online accounts are secure by identifying any weak passwords and prompting you to strengthen them. Using a password manager will help protect your personal information from doxxing by securely storing it in an encrypted vault and strengthening the security of your online accounts.
Your digital footprint refers to the collection of traceable data left behind by a person’s unique online activities. This includes your social media posts, browsing history, browser cookies and other online data. Cybercriminals will try to use your digital footprint to doxx you. You should clean up your digital footprint to prevent doxxing attacks.
Clean up your digital footprint by Googling yourself, contacting any websites with your personal information and requesting them to delete it. You can also delete any inactive accounts, adjust your privacy settings and delete any social media posts that might reveal too much information.
A VPN, or virtual private network, is a service that protects your internet connection and online privacy by encrypting your internet connection and masking your IP address. With a VPN, you can prevent doxxing attacks as you remain anonymous online and have a secure internet connection. Using a VPN allows you to browse the internet safely without cybercriminals intercepting and stealing your data.
You should avoid oversharing on social media to prevent doxxing attacks. Oversharing on social media allows cybercriminals to learn more about you and use that information against you. To avoid oversharing on social media, you need to make your social media accounts private, be wary of what you post on social media, monitor who follows you on all of your social media accounts and secure your accounts with strong passwords and MFA.
People search sites, also known as people finder sites, are websites that collect, publish and sell your personal information online. They are a type of data broker that collects data from public records, public forums and social media platforms. Cybercriminals can use people search sites to gather information about you and use it to dox you.
You should remove yourself from people search sites. By removing yourself from people search sites, you can prevent cyber attacks from targeting you and clean up your digital footprint. To remove yourself from people search sites, you need to do the following:
Unfortunately, most doxxing is not considered illegal because the leaked information is publicly available. You need to protect your personal information from doxxing by securely storing it in a safe location such as a password manager. Keeper Password Manager allows you to securely store your sensitive information in its digitally encrypted vault. The Keeper Vault is protected by zero-knowledge encryption, ensuring no one but you can access your information. Sign up for a free trial to protect yourself from doxxing.