How Scammers Use Inactive Accounts to Steal Your Identity and Money: Scambusters #1,187
Unused or dormant accounts might seem safe, but they can be easy targets for scammers. These scammers can steal your personal information or money when no one is checking the account.
Why Dormant Accounts Put Your Personal Data at Risk
In today’s digital world, we can do many tasks from our smartphones or computers. Like most people, we have several accounts for banking, shopping, paying bills, watching movies, and more. But do you ever think about all the accounts you’ve created and whether you're still using them, or if they're inactive?
Many people have accounts on different online platforms that they don't use often. These inactive accounts can be risky because they store personal information, payment details, and login credentials on company servers. If you haven’t used these accounts for a long time, remember that the potential security risks are still there.
Data breaches show that inactive accounts can attract scammers. When you stop using a service but keep your account open, your information stays available and can be compromised. Many users think inactive accounts are safe, but these dormant profiles often hold the same sensitive information as active accounts.
Dormant Accounts Become a Scammers’ Goldmine
Scammers often target inactive accounts because users do not check them regularly for unauthorized activity. Scammers take advantage of this by using various methods, such as credential stuffing attacks and social engineering schemes, that use stored personal information.
Many companies keep inactive user data for a long time, resulting in large databases of dormant accounts. When these databases are hacked, the people with inactive accounts face the same security risks as active users, but they are often less aware of these dangers.
Inactive accounts can be a target for scammers because users often feel safe with them. Many people think that their unused accounts are not a threat, so they tend to use weak passwords, overlook security updates, and don’t check these accounts for any strange activity.
Common Types of Dormant Accounts
- Social Media Platforms – Old Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram accounts keep personal photos, contact lists, and private messages. Scammers can use this information for identity theft or to trick your contacts with fake schemes.
- E-commerce Sites – Dormant shopping accounts hold onto your credit card information, shipping addresses, and purchase history. Even accounts created for one-time purchases can store your payment details, which may be vulnerable to scammers..
- Subscription Services – Many streaming platforms, software subscriptions, and membership sites keep accounts that aren’t being used. These accounts often have payment methods saved on them. Someone could reactivate these accounts without you knowing and make unauthorized purchases.
- Financial Services – Banking apps, investment platforms, and payment services can have inactive accounts that hold sensitive financial information. Scammers can take advantage of these accounts to carry out fraudulent transactions.
Security Vulnerabilities in Inactive Accounts
Dormant accounts often do not get the same security attention as active ones, which creates several weak spots that scammers can take advantage of. Even if you stop using a service regularly, your stored credit card information remains accessible through these accounts.
Many users do not update passwords for inactive accounts. This leaves these accounts protected by weak or compromised passwords. Security questions and recovery options often become outdated. This makes it hard for legitimate users to recover their accounts, while it makes it easier for scammers to access them.
Two-factor authentication settings can expire or become inactive if an account has not been used for a while. Without these extra security measures, scammers can access your accounts with basic information they get from data breaches or social engineering.
Top Five Dormant Account Scam Problems
- Unauthorized Account Reactivation – Scammers gain access to dormant accounts and reactivate services without your knowledge. They may upgrade subscription levels, make purchases, or change account settings while using stored payment information.
- Identity Theft Through Stored Data – Personal information from inactive accounts can lead to identity theft. Scammers use data from these accounts to create detailed profiles for fraud.
- Payment Method Exploitation – Storing credit card information in inactive e-commerce accounts can lead to unauthorized purchases. Scammers often start with small transactions to avoid being noticed, then increase their charges to larger amounts.
- Contact List Harvesting – Inactive social media accounts can let scammers access your contact lists. This allows them to target your friends and family with impersonation schemes or fake requests for money.
- Password Database Attacks – Old accounts with weak passwords can lead to security problems. Scammers can use these passwords to try and log into various sites, like banks and email accounts. They test the stolen credentials on these sensitive platforms.
Impact on Scam Victims
People often find out about dormant account scams months after they happen. This delay makes it harder to recover lost money and can lead to more significant financial losses. Since these scams can go on undetected for a long time, scammers can do a lot of damage before victims realize something is wrong.
Financial institutions might question claims about fraud on accounts that look active but were actually hacked through dormant profiles. This questioning can slow down the refund process and add stress for victims trying to fix unauthorized charges.
When scammers use dormant account information to open new accounts or make unauthorized purchases, it can hurt credit scores. The time needed to spot and dispute these fraudulent activities can damage your financial reputation for a long time.
Company Data Storage and Third-Party Risks
Many companies store the information of old accounts with outside providers. This practice can create security risks that the original company cannot control. These external storage systems might not have the same security measures as the main service provider.
Cloud storage providers that manage old account data face their own security issues. A breach at one of these providers can put data from many companies at risk at the same time. When these third-party providers have security problems, the dormant account data from several companies can be exposed.
Policies for keeping old account data can differ widely among companies. Some hold onto this information forever, while others delete it after a certain time. Companies with unclear or relaxed data retention policies can expose your personal information for a longer period.
Warning Signs of Compromised Dormant Accounts
- Be cautious of unexpected emails from services you haven't used in a while. They may mean scammers are trying to reactivate your account. If you receive password reset requests, login alerts, or updates about dormant accounts, you should investigate them immediately.
- Unfamiliar charges on credit cards tied to inactive accounts can be a sign that someone has compromised the account. Even small amounts should be investigated because scammers often start with small transactions.
- If your friends or family receive strange messages or requests from your inactive social media accounts, it may mean your account has been hacked. Scammers often use these compromised accounts to target people in your contacts.
Protecting Yourself from Dormant Account Scams
- Audit Your Online Presence – Make a complete list of all the online accounts you’ve created over the past few years. Include social media sites, shopping websites, subscription services, and any other platforms that needed you to register for an account.
- Implement Account Closure Procedures – Close any accounts you no longer use instead of just stopping activity. Most platforms have options to delete your account, which will remove your data from their servers completely.
- Update Security Settings – If you have accounts that you want to keep but don't use often, change the passwords to strong, unique ones and turn on two-factor authentication. Set up alerts to monitor your accounts and get notified if there is any activity.
- Monitor Financial Statements – Check your credit card and bank statements regularly for any unauthorized charges. Pay attention to small amounts, as scammers often use these to test stolen payment information from inactive accounts.
Steps to Take if Your Information is Compromised
- Change the passwords for the hacked account and any other accounts with similar passwords. Turn on two-factor authentication. Check your recent account activity for any unauthorized changes or transactions.
- Contact your credit card companies right away to report any potential problems with your payment information and ask for new cards with different numbers. Keep an eye on your credit reports for signs of unauthorized account openings or identity theft.
- Report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission and significant financial losses to your local law enforcement. Keep a record of all communications and document your recovery efforts.
- Contact your local law enforcement agency and file a police report.
Check out the videos below where scammers were victimized by dormant accounts:
Conclusion
Dormant accounts are a security risk. They can be targeted by scammers, so it's important to manage them proactively. Regularly reviewing your online accounts and properly closing unused ones is the best way to protect yourself.
Keeping inactive accounts often isn’t worth the security risk. Take the time to close unused accounts and secure any dormant profiles. This helps protect your personal information and your contacts from scammers.
Remember, online security is an ongoing process. Mark your calendar to regularly review your online accounts every few months. This will help you find dormant profiles and ensure your security measures are effective against new scammer tactics.
Remember, Stay Alert and Stay Informed!