# Understand your identity online, and how to protect it. Protecting Your Identity Online Plain-language explanations of how scams, breaches, and account break-ins work, plus practical guidance for managing your identity online, from strengthening an account to starting a recovery. ## Not sure where to get started? Pick an option to start learning. Each one points to the chapter with useful resources and information. ### Knowing what to look for #### How do I tell a fake message from a real one? Recommended chapter · Spotting a fake message Inspect the request, the pressure, and the route it gives you. Practice on realistic messages, one clue at a time. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/fake-messages) #### How do scams work? Recommended chapter · How scams and fraud work Follow a fast phone con and a slow relationship or investment con. Both use the same sequence to narrow your choices and move money. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/scams-and-fraud) #### What can someone do with my personal details? Recommended chapter · What identity theft can involve Pick a detail to see how it might be used, what additional context matters, and where to begin. Knowing one detail does not predict a single outcome. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/identity-theft) #### What does a data breach mean for me? Recommended chapter · What a data breach means Start with the data named in the notice. A password, card number, medical record, and government identifier each call for a different response. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/data-breaches) #### Should I worry about AI voices and deepfakes? Recommended chapter · AI scams and deepfakes Cloned voices and convincing video can defeat visual instinct. Use a verification habit that still works when the media looks or sounds familiar. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/ai-scams) ### Staying prepared #### I do not know where to begin Recommended chapter · Getting set up Choose one important account, give it a unique password, and add the strongest second sign-in step it offers. Then repeat with email, financial, and work accounts. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/password-managers) #### I want to lock down my main accounts Recommended chapter · Locking down your accounts Start with email and financial accounts, then add unique passwords and a second sign-in step where each service offers one. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/password-managers) #### I keep getting scam calls and texts Recommended chapter · Spotting fake calls and messages Unexpected calls and texts often use urgency or authority. Hang up or close the message, then reach the person or company through a number or app you already trust. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/fake-messages) ### If something happened #### I got a message and I'm not sure it's real Recommended chapter · Spotting a fake message Start with the request, the pressure it creates, and the channel it arrived through. The chapter includes realistic examples you can inspect one piece at a time. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/fake-messages) #### I clicked a link I wish I hadn't Recommended chapter · What to do after a click What matters is what happened after the page opened. This sorts the next steps by what you entered, downloaded, installed, or allowed. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/clicked-a-link) #### I sent money to someone Recommended chapter · Recovering after a payment Contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, or other provider you used as soon as you can. The available steps depend on how you paid. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/sent-money) #### Someone has my password Recommended chapter · Recovering an account Change the password through the affected account's official app or site. If you reused it, change it anywhere else, starting with email, financial, and work accounts. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/account-taken-over) #### One of my accounts was taken over Recommended chapter · Recovering an account Start with any affected account that can move money or reset other accounts. Use its official recovery route, then record what changed. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/account-taken-over) #### My phone was lost or stolen Recommended chapter · A lost or stolen phone From another device, use the device maker's find, lock, or erase tools, contact the carrier, and review accounts that use the phone number for sign-in or recovery. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/phone-and-accounts) #### A company lost my personal information Recommended chapter · What a breach means Start with the kind of information named in the notice. The useful response may be a password change, account monitoring, or a country-specific credit step. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/data-breaches) #### Someone is pretending to be me Recommended chapter · Recovering your identity Impersonation leaves a paper trail you can build. This shows what to document and who to notify first. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/identity-stolen) #### I got a message about a data breach Recommended chapter · What a breach means The useful response depends on what the notice says was involved. This sorts the next steps by data type. [Open chapter](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/data-breaches) If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services. If money is involved, contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, or other provider you used as soon as you can. ## Browse the library of identity information. ### Knowing what to look for How deceptive requests and identity misuse work, with examples you can inspect. - 01 · [Fake messages](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/fake-messages) · Read the request, the pressure, and the route · 9 min read - 02 · [Scams and fraud](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/scams-and-fraud) · How pressure turns a story into a transfer · 10 min read - 03 · [Identity theft](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/identity-theft) · Match the detail and context to a useful next step · 10 min read - 04 · [Data breaches](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/data-breaches) · Turn the notice into the right response · 10 min read - 05 · [AI scams & deepfakes](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/ai-scams) · A verification habit that survives convincing media · 8 min read ### Staying a step ahead Account and device choices that limit what one stolen credential can reach. - 01 · [Password managers](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/password-managers) · Make every account independent · 9 min read - 02 · [Two-factor & passkeys](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/two-factor) · Choose what cannot be copied and replayed elsewhere · 12 min read - 03 · [Freezing your credit](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/freezing-credit) · What a freeze changes, and where it is available · 8 min read - 04 · [Spot a fake site](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/fake-sites) · Verify the route, not the page design · 11 min read - 05 · [Your phone & key accounts](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/phone-and-accounts) · Protect the accounts that reset the rest · 10 min read ### If something already happened Start with what happened, then follow the provider or account that can still act. - 01 · [If you clicked a bad link](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/clicked-a-link) · Respond to what you entered, installed, or approved · 6 min read - 02 · [If you sent money](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/sent-money) · Find the first call for the way it moved · 8 min read - 03 · [If an account was taken over](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/account-taken-over) · Close every route back into the account · 7 min read - 04 · [If your identity was stolen](https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online/identity-stolen) · Build a regional plan and one case log · 9 min read ## A note on this project Persona publishes Identity Explained. We work on identity verification, but this library is not about our products: the banks, carriers, password managers, and agencies these chapters point to are independent of us, and none of them reviewed or paid for this guidance. Each chapter is written for anyone trying to protect their accounts or recover after something goes wrong, and it links the official sources it draws on. --- _Part of Identity Explained (by Persona). https://explained.withpersona.com/your-identity-online_