- Reconcile or balance your bank account every month. The beauty of online accounts is that you can monitor them almost in real time. That means you can catch crooks long before a statement arrives in the mail. Learn more
- File your taxes promptly. While thieves may use stolen information to create fraudulent bank accounts, they may also use it to file fraudulent tax returns. File your taxes as soon as you have the tax information you need and respond promptly to letters sent to you by the IRS. Note that the IRS will never communicate with you via email, so watch out for this type of fraud and don’t open emails purporting to be from the IRS
- Be extra careful about emails and attachments. Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from suspicious emails that claim to be updates from any company connected to a data breach. Learn More
- Use Two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication adds a second level of authentication to an account log-in. When you have to enter only your username and one password, that's considered a single-factor authentication. 2FA requires the user to have two out of three types of credentials before being able to access an account. Learn More
- Check your Credit Cards accounts often. Reviewing your recent account activity is fundamental to credit card safety—and it’s easy. You can do it online or by phone. If your credit card issuer offers email or text alerts about unusual activity, sign up to receive them.
- Monitor credit reports. Check your credit report for any accounts that crooks may have opened in your name. Credit reports are available for free, from each of the three national credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — every 12 months from http://www.AnnualCreditReport.com. Some monitoring services and credit card companies now allow you unlimited access to credit information, so you could theoretically check every day.
Data breaches will help phishers trick you.
The likelihood that your personal identification is in the hands of criminals increases with every new data breach. Data breach information goes way beyond just login credentials and credit card numbers. Here are all the types of personal identification information that can be stolen during a data breach:
- Social Security Numbers.
- Date of Birth.
- Credit Card Numbers.
- Telephone Numbers.
- Public records of criminal and civil cases.
- Your credit history (current and previous loans, credit cards, credit card balances & utilities).
- Transaction history and length of accounts.
- Bankruptcy filings.
- Companies with which you have an existing or prior relationship.
- Your medical information or payments.
- Drivers license number and driving records.
- Work Records.
- Current & previous addresses, and property ownership.
- Voter registration.
- Professional licenses.
- Associates.
- Family, relatives, and neighbors.
- Car, homeowners, and renters insurance claims.
Data breaches may not play out for a really long time as hackers might not use stolen data right away. The following suggestions should become habits that last well into the future. This way if hackers are sitting on your information to use it in the future, you'll know.
What to do:
Order specialty free reports outside of the big three credit reporting agencies. Specialty reporting companies may disclose information that can help prevent fraudulent accounts and other identity theft crimes:
LexisNexis Full File Disclosure. It’s one of the more comprehensive databases out there, containing all the information LexisNexis gathers to create its various reports about you. And, like credit reports, you can order one free copy per year.
Please visit: https://personalreports.lexisnexis.com/access_your_full_file_disclosure.jspComplete List: For a complete list, please visit the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau at:
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201604_cfpb_list-of-consumer-reporting-companies.pdf