October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and Attorney General Dana Nessel is reminding all Michiganders to educate themselves about the risk of identity theft and to be vigilant about protecting their personal information from getting into the hands of bad actors.?

Nessel recently filed charges against a Detroit man for using stolen personal information from thousands of victims to defraud the State. ?The alleged perpetrator obtained the social security numbers of these identity theft victims via the dark web. ??

Identity theft can take many forms from financial ID theft, medical ID theft, synthetic ID theft, tax ID theft, unemployment ID theft, or even child ID theft. ? In all cases, a criminal illegally uses someone else?s personal information for their own gain. ? Identity theft can destroy credit, the ability to obtain a loan, to secure potential job or educational opportunities, and it costs victims significant time and money to restore their good names. ??

Attorney General Dana Nessel and her Michigan Identity Theft Support Team (MITS) urges Michigan citizens to educate and protect themselves against all forms of Identity Theft and potential victimization.? For more information on how to protect yourself before ID theft occurs, see the Attorney General Identity Theft Prevention alert.? If you are a victim of ID theft, review the Attorney General Identity Theft Recovery alert for helpful tips.? You may also contact MITS using the Identity Theft Assistance Form.???

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