BALTIMORE — From online banking to social media, your information is out there and chances are someone already has part of your personal identity.
"I would say for the vast majority of people it's too late. Somebody somewhere already has a significant piece of your personal identity," said Anton Dahbura, the executive director of JHU's information security institute.
The things people can do with that information ranges from a potential small impact to a major one.
"Such as getting into your bank account, credit card charges, even buy a house, get medical services, you name it," said Dahbura.
Artificial intelligence is changing the game - for both the bad actors and those looking to help.
"These tools give everyone on both sides of the equation more power or more opportunity," said Jeff Karberg, with the Attorney General's office.
One of the ways is taking the poorly written scam emails by someone who doesn't speak English and turning it into a well written sentence.
"Anybody, even if they don't speak English well, can craft a really convincing email," said Dahbura.
Companies are also using AI in their battle to stop scammers.
"To help monitor your activities or purchases and they're much more likely to notify you if they feel something suspicious is going on," said Dahbura.
There are ways to protect yourself from these scams or even try and limit the amount of data out there.
"We like to recommend freezing your credit at the three major credit reporting agencies," said Karberg. "The credit it freeze is really good at preventing what's called new account fraud," said Karberg.
Without it you might not find out your information was used to open a new credit card until you get a bill in the mail, or worse, a collections notice.
If one shows up at your door there are some steps to follow.
"So you're going to want to file a police report," said Karberg "The next thing you're going to want to contact the institution where the institution was created directly."
This will tell you the best course of action for that company's policy on fraudulent accounts.
Another one is changing your passwords.
"Even if it's just a little bit it helps a lot it makes it more difficult for people to grab your password and use it anywhere," said Dahbura.
If you have any concerns or questions the attorney general's office has an entire team dedicated to protecting consumers.