How Password Managers Can Help Prevent Identity Theft

Password managers can help prevent your identity from being stolen by protecting your data and privacy online. If you’ve never used a password manager before, it is an online solution that allows you to store and manage your login credentials in a secure, encrypted vault.

Using a password manager is simple, as all you need to remember is your master password to access a complete collection of your login credentials and other records such as credit card numbers, files, photos and copies of your ID cards. When you use a password manager like Keeper^®, you can access your secure password vault on any web browser, desktop app or mobile app.

Without using a password manager, your private information could be accessed by cybercriminals. Specifically, cybercriminals will obtain your Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to steal your identity.

Read on to learn more about what information cybercriminals target, how identity theft happens and why having a password manager can protect your identity.

What is considered personally identifiable information?

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is considered to be any information or data that could identify a person. PII is generally split into two categories: sensitive and non-sensitive. Sensitive PII is not available to the public, while non-sensitive PII requires additional information to identify you. Some examples of sensitive PII include your passport number, medical records, Social Security number and fingerprints. Non-sensitive PII examples include your gender, zip code and height.

Since you need PII to open a bank account or apply for loans, having compromised PII could lead to cybercriminals stealing your identity. Let’s take your Social Security number as an example. If someone got a hold of this important information, they could open credit cards in your name or gain access to your financial accounts. This is why it’s incredibly important to protect your PII by using a password manager; more on that later.

The types of identity theft and how they occur

There are multiple ways that a cybercriminal could take your identity using your PII. Here are a few.

Online identity theft

Any identity theft that occurs over the internet is known as online identity theft. More specifically, account takeover is a type of identity theft where, once they steal your login credentials, cybercriminals will lock you out of your account and impersonate you. Think of when one of your friends or family members starts messaging you strangely on social media – their account has most likely been taken over by a cybercriminal.

Financial identity theft

Another kind of identity theft involves your finances, appropriately called financial identity theft. The most common type of financial identity theft is credit card fraud, where someone else uses your credit card information to purchase things. Be aware of purchases you don’t recognize when you look at your bills, as those may be cybercriminals using your credit card information. Cybercriminals can also use your PII to open new lines of credit in your name, which you’ll be on the hook for paying off.

Medical identity theft

An alarming type of identity theft, called medical identity theft, targets your medical insurance to get prescription drugs or submit fraudulent claims to health insurers without your authorization. This happens when cybercriminals steal your PII through data breaches or phishing tactics, then they will sell your medical information to others. 

No matter what type of identity theft may happen, cybercriminals will use whatever PII is available to them to impersonate you. After a cybercriminal has some of your PII, they will continue to collect data about you to learn about your bank accounts and other information. To test the waters, cybercriminals may start out using your PII by making a small charge on your credit card. If these small acts go unnoticed, it could turn into cybercriminals spending thousands of dollars using your PII.

Having strong passwords for all of your accounts minimizes your chances of becoming a victim of identity theft. Your PII should be protected by strong and unique passwords that you don’t reuse. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on your accounts for an added layer of security to verify your identity. One of the best ways to protect yourself from identity theft is to start using a password manager like Keeper.

Preventing identity theft with a password manager

Since password managers securely store your private data, they are great tools for preventing identity theft. Here is how.

Preventing identity-based attacks

Identity-based attacks are attempts to steal your online identity typically in the form of account takeovers which often lead to financial loss. A password manager prevents these types of attacks by helping you create strong and unique passwords and storing them in an encrypted vault, making it harder for cybercriminals to get a hold of them to access your accounts.

Preventing phishing

Most cybercriminals rely on phishing tactics to gain sensitive information by tricking you into downloading malicious software onto your devices. Phishing can occur over text, phone call or email. Cybercriminals will get you to download a dangerous attachment or click a link that can lead to fake websites where their targets will input their credentials. For example, you may think you are on the Amazon website but it could be a spoofed site that will steal your username and password. Keeper Password Manager can help in preventing these types of phishing attacks because it only autofills credentials that match the known sites in your vault. If you happen to land on a spoofed site, Keeper will not enter your credentials, which will signal that it is a phishing site.  

Preventing password-related attacks

When cybercriminals have the login credentials for one of your accounts, they can gain access to a lot of your sensitive information. They will use your passwords in what are called password-related attacks, which are cyber attacks relying on using your passwords on different websites or accounts to gather your private information. When you use a secure password manager, you can avoid becoming a victim of cyber attacks including identity theft.

• Password managers generate strong and random passwords, making them more challenging for a cybercriminal to crack
• Password managers identify which of your passwords are weak and predictable, so you can strengthen them
• Password managers identify accounts that share the same password and will encourage you to change your passwords to have unique ones for every account
• Password managers use zero-knowledge encryption, so you can share your credentials or sensitive documents, like tax forms, with others – and prevent cybercriminals from intercepting them

Additional benefits of having a password manager

Password managers are beneficial beyond protecting your identity and PII. When you use a password manager, such as Keeper, here are a few benefits you will find.

It creates strong and unique passwords for your accounts

Password managers securely store your passwords, but they also create random and complex passwords with a password generator. This is a huge benefit because you won’t have to worry about reusing the same password for your accounts, which would make it easy for cybercriminals to gain access to all your information. 

It stores your passwords in a digital vault with end-to-end encryption

When you use Keeper Password Manager, your login credentials are protected with end-to-end encryption. The main purpose of encrypting your data is to keep your information confidential and unreadable by anyone who isn’t you. Keeper uses AES 256-bit encryption to protect your data from cyber attacks, including identity theft. 

It autofills your credentials

Keeper Password Manager has a feature called KeeperFill, which automatically fills in your login credentials to the matching website linked in your vault. For example, if you add your email login information as a record and add the URL where you log in, the next time you go to log into your email, your credentials will be filled in automatically. Entering the URL into your record protects you from phishing attempts and spoofed websites because your credentials won’t fill in anywhere except the correct website.

It identifies weak and reused passwords

A helpful feature of Keeper Password Manager is that it notifies you when your password is weak or reused. This convenient notification allows you to make an immediate change to your vulnerable account by making your password stronger and more unique. If you did not use a password manager, you would not realize which of your passwords you’ve used before.

Protect yourself from identity theft with Keeper

A password manager can do more than just keep your passwords safe. You can and should use a password manager to help protect your PII and prevent you from becoming a victim of identity theft. See the difference Keeper Password Manager can make in your life by starting a free 30-day trial today.