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Three ways to reduce the risk of identity theft
When an unauthorised party uses your personal identity number or other personal data – to order goods or take out a loan in your name, for example – they are committing a crime. This crime is called identity theft, which is otherwise known as identity hijacking or identity fraud.
You can avoid identity theft by taking these three main steps:
- Register a digital mailbox
If you have a digital mailbox, you will receive communications from the Swedish Tax Agency and other government agencies digitally, instead of on paper. Unlike regular email, a digital mailbox is secure because you log in using eID, such as mobile BankID.
- Respond to the Swedish Tax Agency if someone has reported a move to your address
You may receive a letter in the post, or a message to your digital mailbox, stating that someone has reported a move to your address. To prevent an unauthorised party from registering at your home address and using your address details fraudulently, you need to confirm whether or not the person in question actually lives at the property.
If someone has reported a move to your address
- Manage your business representatives using our e-service
Protect your business’s data by using our Swedish e-service “Representatives and authorisation” (“Ombud och behörigheter”) to appoint and manage your business representatives. An appointed representative can then log in securely with their eID and file your tax return, for example. They can also access your – or your business’s – tax account.
When you have logged in to the e-service, you can also choose to block the registration of representatives on paper. Activating this registration block prevents unauthorised parties from using a paper form to apply for authorisation as your representative without your knowledge.
More ways to protect your identity and avoid attempted fraud
Your eID is a digital proof of identity. It’s important to use it with care in order to prevent fraud. Never use your eID at the request of someone who contacts you by telephone or email, for example.
You should also be very careful if you receive an email or text message with a link to a website and an invitation to log in using your eID.