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What to do if your information is stolen in a Company’s Data Breech

Hackers have stolen the personal information of 110 million Americans, roughly half of the nation's adults, in the last 12 months alone. This massive number, tallied for CNNMoney by Ponemon Institute researchers, is made even more mind-boggling by the amount of hacked accounts: up to 432 million. The exact number of exposed accounts is hard to pin down, because some companies, such as AOL and eBay, haven’t been fully forthcoming about the details of possible cyber breaches. But that's the best estimate available with the data tracked by the Identity Theft Resource Center and CNNMoney own review of corporate disclosures. Consumers must realize this damage is a clear and present danger to them. Each record usually includes personal information, such as your name, debit or credit card, email, phone number, birthday, password, security questions and physical address.

homecyberdefense.netWhy does this keep happening? Many experts claim that we have two things going on at once… First: The world is increasingly moving to the internet. Even when you do shop at stores, they rely on the Internet to conduct and process all transactions other than cash. As a result, your personal information is everywhere: on your phone, laptop, work PC, website servers and countless retailers' computer networks. Second: Hackers are increasing in numbers and getting more sophisticated. This is turning into a very profitable profession, and law enforcement is having a hard time keeping up, not to mention that most hacks cross national borders. Plus, hacking weapons are numerous and cheap. Hackers, or cyber criminals, have learned to quietly plant malware inside corporate networks for years without setting off any alarms. Many more are probably in the systems of the government & business right now waiting for the right time to extract data.

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I have been notified my information has been stolen through a company data breech, what do I do? First, set a fraud alert with a credit reporting agency every 90 days. If you are a victim of identity theft or believe you are a target of identity theft (which is everyone), then the Fair Credit Reporting Act legally entitles you to set a fraud alert with a credit reporting agency free of charge. The fraud alert requires creditors to go through an additional identity verification procedure that essentially verifies that you are you. The fraud alert only needs to be set with one Credit Agency, it expires after 90 days and it takes less than one minute to complete. Fraud alerts are by far the most effective defense tactic against financial identity theft. During the time the alert is in effect you will be notified of any attempt to get credit in your name. 

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Second, close all accounts affected by the breach. Hackers, or the criminals the hackers sell information to, collect their returns when they access your breached accounts. Many individuals do not close their breached accounts because they wrongly believe there is a minimal chance of their accounts being overtaken. If you close these accounts, then you have effectively thwarted their efforts and helped protect yourself from the suffering of this identity theft. Third, change your passwords. Hackers adjust their methods based on behaviors of their targets. With your username and password, which was obtained in the breach, a good cyber criminal can drain your financial accounts within minutes. Change your passwords and utilize different passwords for all of your different accounts.

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homecyberdefense.netFourth, monitor your identity for fraudulent use. Most people only associate their identity with their credit report. It is also as important to check your medical, criminal, and driving records. In the case of medical identity theft, the ultimate result can be devastating, and criminal identity theft can lead to improper arrest (most likely for drugs). Make certain to monitor all forms of your identity for unusual activity. Make sure you do a web search of yourself every couple of weeks. (It is probably a good idea to get at least one professional search done that includes the Deep Web. That is where your information will be sold if that was the hacker’s intent.) Subscription to our newsletter is free and you can sign-up on our website at: HomeCyberDefense.net