What is PII?

That’s because PII stands for “personal identifiable information“. And if it lands in the wrong hands, it can be damaging to many aspects of your personal and/or professional life. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at PII and show you what you can do to protect yourself online and beyond.

Microsoft Defender

Stay safer online with one easy-to-use app<sup>1

1</sup>Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription required; app available as separate download

Learn More

What does PII stand for? As mentioned above, PII stands for “personal identifiable information”, or info that allows others to personally identify you. Your PII can be displayed either online, saved on your phone, or in your mail, so it’s important to take steps to keep it safe. We’ll talk more later about what you can do to protect your PII, but let’s talk first about what is, and isn’t, considered PII.

What is considered PII? Any information someone can use to identify you is what is considered PII. Anything from your phone number to your email address to your IP address to your social security number. Most people understand the importance of keeping a social security number safe because it’s one of the easiest ways for criminals to steal your identity. However, things like your IP address and email address can give hackers the first piece to a puzzle to compromise your computer or online accounts. Even your birthdate can help hackers or criminals get started with stealing more of your personal information.

What is not considered PII? Because protecting PII is an important part of keeping your identity—and your children’s identity—safe, we’re sometimes overprotective of other information about ourselves, like a business phone number, race, religion, gender, workplace, and job title. None of the items included on this list are considered PII. Your workplace and job title might feel like you’re sharing an important piece of information about yourself but remember that most workplaces are public, and anyone can walk in and see you there and find out your job title.

Why should I keep PII safe? Allowing PII to be readily available online can open you up to security threats and a breach of personal information. Identity theft and other fraud can ruin your life. Whether your finances are wrecked, or crimes are committed, you could be on the hook for hundreds and thousands of dollars of damage over just a few short days. For this reason, you’ll want to make sure your personal information is safe and protected both online and off.

How do I know if my PII is at risk? Your PII can be priceless to cybercriminals. It doesn’t matter if you have you good or bad credit, no debt or multiple maxed-out credit cards. Your social security number and credentials to your online accounts can be a small gold mine for those looking to sell information on the dark web. One of the problems with the vulnerability of PII is that you don’t always know when it’s been compromised. Some signs you can look for that might indicate your PII has been stolen include:

• Unusual withdrawals and purchases from your bank account or credit cards
• Additional debts on your credit report
• You stop getting bills (because somebody has changed your billing address)
• Additional charges on your bills

It’s important that you’re regularly reviewing your bills, bank statements, credit card statements, and credit reports to ensure everything looks normal. While you don’t need to look at your credit report monthly, a quarterly review using a free credit service should be enough to catch mistakes.

How can I keep my PII safe? In addition to what you can do to your keep PII safe, there are laws in place to help. Some things you can do to protect your PII are to be careful with whom you share personal information online, not clicking links you don’t entirely trust, and keeping your antivirus software up to date.

Businesses, particularly healthcare companies, are beholden to protecting PII via the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). Keeping health information private will not only protect you from divulging sensitive information relating to a medical diagnosis—it also safeguards information from identity fraud. The government has also put in place the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which regulates the collection of PII of kids under 13 years old. Although COPPA is effectively in place for businesses, it can’t protect your kids from sharing information with other online users.

Understanding PII’s meaning and the role it plays in your life is an important part of helping you know why you should keep it safe. Practicing online safety is one way you can keep yourself and your family safe from cybercriminals and others who want to steal your PII.