Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I'm speaking with Michael Bremer. He is the vice president of Experian global data breach resolution and consumer protection. Mike, thanks so much for taking some time for me. Really do appreciate it, sir.
[00:00:10] Speaker B: Thank you, Matt. Appreciate being here.
[00:00:13] Speaker A: Well, you know, it is very much the case, at least in my observation, casual observation, anyway. We're hearing more and more about fraud, identity theft, data breaches, kind of all the time. What does this report show, this new report that you all have outd? Am I imagining things or is it becoming more prevalent?
[00:00:34] Speaker B: The most recent us identity and fraud report that we just put out surveyed 2000 consumers and their top three concerns were generative AI, deepfakes and cybercrime. More specifically, 84% of them had a concern over identity theft, as well as stolen credit cards. And the numbers that are, I were even 20% higher than they were in 2023. So it is a big concern.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: Wow. Yeah, I mean, it does. So I am not alone in sharing those concerns there. How do people then go about protecting themselves from all of these different things that you were talking about? I mean, we can just start out with fraud and identity theft, perhaps because as you say, it's a big concern and it's something that, it seems like every other day we're hearing about some other data breach or some new type of fraud that's out there.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Last year, Matt, every consumer in the US received at least three notices of a data breach. And the number is going to be higher even this year. Some of the best things you can do to protect yourself if you receive a notice of a data breach is monitor your credit file and place a credit freeze if you're not credit active. I would also not click on any links, answer any phone calls, or even use the famous new QR code because humans can't tell the difference between a good QR code and a bad QR code. Furthermore, don't use any public Wi Fi. It can be spoofed. I would make sure that encryption and a VPN, if it's available on your device, is turned on so your data is protected both at rest and in transit. And then make sure you have a second factor of authentication on your financial accounts. For sure. And most accounts where they offer it. This would be in addition to a username and password. You'd have a thumbprint, a retina scan, maybe even just a request for a text to go to your phone to confirm it's you. Beyond that, username and password.
[00:02:45] Speaker A: Gotcha. Very good. And it's interesting you know, the prevalence now, as you mentioned, a moment ago of QR codes in just our everyday lives. It seems like they've been around for quite a long time, but didn't really catch on. I feel like until the pandemic, how do we sort of know how to protect ourselves from a QR code that may or may not be something that leads us somewhere kind of nefarious?
[00:03:15] Speaker B: You can't trust any QR codes and it's very hard. There are some sites that say, hey, if you put in this QR code, it may be able to be detected as legitimate or not. But there's even scam sites that are saying, check your QR code here. So it's a double whammy. You're going to try to protect yourself and you get scammed on that. So I would say altogether avoid them. Make a phone call in, send an email back to a company if you need to have some sort of connection, and you initiate that versus being the receiver of a fraudulent code.
[00:03:50] Speaker A: And as far as the concerns you mentioned in the beginning here that people have about AI, especially generative AI, talk about that and how people can be very difficult. Obviously, the better the technology gets. But how can you recognize things that are, again, real versus fake?
[00:04:10] Speaker B: The easiest way to do it in terms of a catch all would be if the offer, if the image, if the fact seems too good to be true. There's recent reports about foreign nation states that are putting out fake election information, both images as well as copy, and it's pretty outlandish. And that's probably a good example where you just can't know if it's really there until it seems too good to be true. But I would also stay away from sites that you're not familiar with because there's lots of scams going around, like travel booking site that gives you really great airfare or below market rate on a hotel, even natural disasters. Theres a scam for hey, this, hurricanes just hit. Please donate to this charity and they spoof the Red Cross or they spoof the local food bank charity. It doesnt matter. I also think a lot of people take advantage of free wifi when theyre traveling and in fact, that wifi can be spoofed and you don't know if the data is compromised because it's gone and you never even realize it.
[00:05:22] Speaker A: Yeah, just proceed with caution in all areas. Definitely. Well, Mike, just about time for us to wrap things up here. But are there any resources that our listeners can utilize, maybe online and just go to learn more about all of these different issues?
[00:05:37] Speaker B: Yes, Matt, the one stop shop is www.experian.com, and you can get not only tips on how to protect yourself for identity theft, but also if in fact, you might be suffering identity theft. You can see the warning signs and most importantly, what to do and what steps to take to protect yourself in the future.
[00:05:58] Speaker A: Very good. Michael Bremer is vice president of Experian global Data breach resolution and consumer protection. Of course, there at Experian. Mike, thanks so much. Really do appreciate your time, sir.
[00:06:09] Speaker B: Thank you, Matt.
