Scammers are able to use information stolen from victims in a variety of ways. They may:
- Take over the victim's account.
After the scammers have harvested information such as passwords, user names and account numbers, they are able to directly access the victim's account. They can then transfer funds to other accounts, conduct transactions, issue cheques in the victim's name and generally manipulate the account in the same way that the legitimate owner could. They can also change the account password so that the victim is locked out of his or her account.