As the year comes to an end, University of Michigan School of Information associate professor Florian Schaub says everyone should be thinking about how to protect their identities from fraud in 2025. The best way to do this, he says, is to place a freeze on your credit report. 

“If you have not done so yet, placing a freeze on your credit report is one effective way to reduce the risks associated with identity theft,” Schaub says. “With a credit freeze in place, it is not possible to check your credit report/rating, so if an identity thief is trying to open a bank account, apply for a loan or other high value transactions in your name it would not go through.” 

People should also be on the lookout for text-based scams and deepfakes, Schaub says. 

“We are also seeing an increased use of deepfakes in scams, such as a faked video or even video call of a family member, co-worker, or your boss,” Schaub says. “Generally, when something feels strange and you are being rushed to do something, take a breath, step back and confirm through other channels that you are dealing with the real person and not a scammer.”

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Florian Schaub is a UMSI associate professor, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the College of Engineering and an adjunct professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School. Learn more about Florian Schaub by visiting his UMSI faculty profile.