Identity theft questions rise on AskTech.Support ahead of Cybersecurity Awareness Month

AskTech.Support says identity-theft questions overtook scam questions in an analysis of 975 cybersecurity-related inquiries submitted since January 2025. The shift suggests more people are trying to recover from exposed personal information and compromised accounts, not just avoid fraud in the first place.

Why it matters: - AskTech.Support’s latest analysis suggests consumers are shifting from scam awareness to identity-recovery mode as Cybersecurity Awareness Month begins. - The change matters because identity theft can affect credit, bank access, phone service and government accounts at the same time. - The trend points to a broader problem: more people may already be dealing with exposed personal information before they know it.

What happened: - AskTech.Support analyzed 975 cybersecurity-related questions submitted since January 2025. - Identity theft became the most common topic during January–August 2026. - Compared with the same eight months in 2025, identity-theft questions rose 10%. - Questions about online scams, phishing and cybercrime fell 34%. - Questions about hacked or compromised accounts fell 31%. - The shift suggests consumers are increasingly asking what to do after personal information may already be compromised.

The details: - Questions included how to protect credit after a caller knew a Social Security number. - Users asked how to regain access to email after suspected identity theft. - Some asked what to do when a possible phone compromise lined up with unauthorized bank-account access. - AskTech.Support Cybersecurity Expert Dustin Sandlin linked the rise in identity-theft questions to a heavy year for data breaches. - Sandlin said more than 471 million data-breach victim notices were issued in the first six months of 2026, more than during all of 2025. - Sandlin said people often do not know their information was compromised until someone tries to use it. - Sandlin said no single organization handles identity theft from start to finish. - A bank may secure a compromised account or dispute a fraudulent charge, but that only addresses part of the problem. - Sandlin said consumers often have to deal with each symptom separately instead of the broader exposure.

Between the lines: - The data suggests consumers are moving from prevention questions to damage-control questions. - The findings also show that identity theft is often layered, with one breach or account issue leading to others. - The gap between a breach and visible fraud may be widening, which makes early detection harder for consumers.

What’s next: - Sandlin recommends people start with the problem that poses the most immediate risk, then check where the information could be used elsewhere. - The first step is to freeze credit files to help block new credit accounts opened with stolen personal information. - Consumers should also freeze bank, utility and phone information to limit account takeovers. - Sandlin recommends securing government ID accounts to reduce identity-based fraud. - Sandlin pointed consumers to FrozenPII for guides on credit, bank, utility, phone and government ID freezes. - AskTech.Support says it connects consumers with verified technology professionals for help with computers, phones, cybersecurity, online accounts and other tech issues. - AskTech.Support is part of the JustAnswer network, which has connected consumers with verified professionals since 2003.

The bottom line: - The biggest question is no longer just how to spot a scam. - More consumers are asking how to recover after identity exposure has already happened.