We risk seeing our bank accounts emptied or receiving court documents for non-payment of loans or purchases not actually made by us. This is not in any way a remote hypothesis: in 2020 there were over 230.000 victims of identity theft in Italy.

What happens on the Internet has consequences in our everyday lives. That is why it is essential to protect, as much as possible, all the information that concerns us. If our identity is stolen and used illegally the consequences can be disastrous for our social and credit reputation. In addition to losing money, a phishing victim may be forced to face a charge of theft or fraud. The enormous time and effort required to demonstrate to the authorities that our identity has been fraudulently used still may not help us avoid being put on a list of unreliable payers. This would negatively impact our credit history resulting in being refused, even years later, financing or mortgages, for a car, house, or company. In some cases the victim of identity theft could also be accused of money laundering. Being convinced that we are untouchable because we have a bank account perpetually in red does not save us. If a cyber-criminal gains access to our bank account, even though there is no money to steal, they could still use that bank account in a “dirty money" recycling scheme, causing us even more severe problems.