Did
you
just
get
word
that
your
personal
information
may
have
been
caught
up
in
a
data
breach?
If
so,
you
can
take
steps
to
protect
yourself
from
harm
should
your
info
get
into
the
hands
of
a
scammer
or
thief.
How
does
that
information
get
collected
in
the
first
place? We
share
personal
information
with
companies
for
multiple
reasons simply
by
going
about
our
day—to pay
for
takeout
at
our
favorite
restaurant,
to
check
into
a
hotel,
or
to
collect
rewards
at
the
local
coffee
shop. Of
course,
we
use
our
credit
and
debit
cards
too,
sometimes
as
part
of
an
online
account
that
tracks
our
purchase
history.
In
other
words,
we
leave
trails
of
data
practically
wherever
we
go
these
days,
and
that
data
is
of
high
value
to
hackers. Thus, all
those
breaches
we
read
about.
Data
breaches
are
a
(sad)
fact
of
life
Whether
it’s a
major
breach
that exposes millions
of
records or
one
of many
other
smaller-scale
breaches like
the
thousands
that
have
struck
healthcare
providers, each
one
serves
as a
reminder
that
data
breaches
happen
regularly and
that
we
could
find
ourselves
affected.
Depending
on
the
breach
and
the
kind
of
information
you’ve
shared
with
the
business
or
organization
in
question,
information
stolen
in
a
breach
could
include:
-
Usernames
and
passwords -
Email
addresses -
Phone
numbers
and
home
addresses -
Contact
information
for
friends
and
family
members -
Birthdays
and
driver’s
license
numbers -
Credit
and
debit
card
numbers
or
bank
account
details -
Purchase
history
and
account
activity -
Social
security
numbers
What
do
crooks
do
with
that
data?
Several
things.
Apart
from
using
it
themselves,
they
may
sell
that
data
to
other
criminals.
Either
way,
this
can
lead
to
illicit
use
of
credit
and
debit
cards, draining
of
bank
accounts,
claiming
tax
refunds
or
medical
expenses
in
the
names
of
the
victims, or,
in
extreme
cases,
assuming
the
identity
of
others
altogether.
Examples
of
data
breaches
over
the
recent
years
In
all,
data
is
a
kind
of
currency
in
of
itself
because
it
has
the
potential
to
unlock
several
aspects
of
victim’s
life,
each
with
its own monetary value. It’s
no
wonder
that
big
breaches
like
these
have
made
the
news
over
the
years, with
some
of
the
notables
including:
-
U-Haul
–
2022:
A
breach
which
accessed
their
customer
contracts
system
between
November
2021
and
April
2022
exposed
the
names,
driver’s
license
numbers,
and
state
ID
numbers
of
2.2
million
renters.
-
Los
Angeles
Unified
School
District
–
2022:
Hackers
released
500
GB
of
highly
sensitive
information
after
a
breach
and
when
their
subsequent
ransomware
demands
were
not
met,
exposing
Social
Security
and
passport
numbers,
health
information,
and
psychological
assessments
of
some
students. -
Facebook
–
2021: Two
sets
of
data
exposed
the
records
of
more
than
530
million
users,
including
phone
numbers,
account
names,
and Facebook
IDs. According
to
Facebook,
the
source
of
the
breach
dated
back
to
2019,
at
which
time
the
flaw
was
remedied,
even
though
the
information
was
exposed
in
2021. -
Marriott
International
(Starwood)
–
2018: Half
a
million guests
had names,
email
and
physical
mailing
addresses,
phone
numbers,
passport
numbers,
Starwood
Preferred
Guest
account
information,
dates
of
birth, and
other
information
about
their
stays
exposed. -
Equifax
–
2017: Some
147
million
records
that
included
names,
addresses, dates
of
birth,
driver’s
license
numbers,
and
Social
Security
Numbers
were
exposed,
along
with
a
relatively
small
subset
of
200,000
victims
having
their
credit
card
information
exposed
as
well.
As
mentioned,
these
are
big
breaches
with
big
companies
that
we
likely
more
than
recognize. Yet
smaller
and
mid-sized
businesses
are
targets
as
well, with
some
43%
of
data
breaches
involving
companies
of
that size. Likewise, restaurants
and
retailers
have
seen
their
Point-of-Sale
(POS)
terminals
compromised,
right
on
down
to
neighborhood
restaurants.
Staying
secure
in
light
of
data
breaches
When
a
company
experiences
a
data
breach,
customers
need
to
realize
that
this
could
impact
their
online
safety.
If
your
favorite
coffee
shop’s
customer
database
gets
leaked,
there’s
a
chance
that
your
personal
or
financial
information
was
exposed.
However,
this
doesn’t
mean
that
your
online
safety
is
doomed.
If
you
think
you
were
affected
by
a
breach,
you
can
take
several
steps
to
protect
yourself
from
the
potential
side
effects.
1.
Keep
an
eye
on
your
bank
and
credit
card
accounts
One
of
the
most
effective
ways
to
determine
whether
someone
is
fraudulently
using one
or
more
of
your accounts is
to
check
your statements.
If
you
see
any
charges
that
you
did
not
make,
report
them to
your
bank
or
credit
card
company
immediately. They
have
processes
in
place
to
handle
fraud.
While
you’re
with
them,
see
if
they
offer
alerts
for
strange
purchases,
transactions,
or withdrawals.
Our
credit
monitoring
service
can
help
you
keep
an
eye
on
this.
It
monitors
changes
to
your
credit
score,
report,
and
accounts
with
timely
notifications
and
guidance
so
you
can
take
action
to
tackle
identity
theft.
2.
Monitor
your
identity
with
the
help
of
a
service
Breached
and
stolen
information
often
ends
up
in
dark
web
marketplaces
where
hackers,
scammers,
and
thieves
purchase
it
to
commit
yet
more
crime.
Once
it
was
difficult
to
know
if
your
information
was
caught
up
in
such
marketplaces,
yet
now
an
identity
monitoring
service
can
do
the
detective
work
for
you.
Our
service
monitors
the
dark
web
for
your
personal
info,
including
email,
government
IDs,
credit
card
and
bank
account
info,
and
more.
This
can
help
keep
your
personal
info
safe
with
early
alerts
that
show
you
if
your
data
is
found
on
the
dark
web,
an
average
of
10
months
ahead
of
similar
services.
From
there,
you’ll
get
guidance
that
you
can
act
on,
which
can
help
protect
your
info
and
accounts
from
theft.
3.
Place
a
fraud
alert
If
you
suspect
that
your
data
might
have
been
compromised,
place
a
fraud
alert
on
your
credit.
This
not
only
ensures
that
any
new
or
recent
requests
undergo
scrutiny,
but
also
allows
you
to
have
extra
copies
of
your
credit
report
so
you
can
check
for
suspicious
activity. You
can
place
one
fraud
alert
with
any
of
the
three
major
credit
reporting
agencies
(Equifax,
Experian,
TransUnion)
and
they
will
notify
the
other
two.
A
fraud
alert
typically
lasts
for
a
year,
although
there
are
options
for
extending
it
as
well.
4.
Look
into
freezing
your
credit
if
needed
Freezing
your
credit
will
make
it highly
difficult for
criminals
to
take
out
loans
or
open
new
accounts
in
your
name,
as
a
freeze
halts
all
requests
to
pull
your
credit—even
legitimate
ones. In
this
way,
it’s
a
far
stronger
measure
than
placing
a
fraud
alert. Note
that
if
you
plan
to
take
out
a
loan,
open
a
new
credit
card,
or
other
activity
that
will
prompt
a
credit
report,
you’ll
need
to
take
extra steps
to
see
that
through
while
the
freeze
is
in
place. (The
organization
you’re
working
with
can
assist
with
the
specifics.) Unlike
the
fraud
alert,
you’ll
need
to
contact
each
major
credit
reporting
agency
to
put
one
in
place.
Also,
a freeze
lasts
as
long
as
you
have
it
in
place.
You’ll
have
to
remove
it
yourself,
again
with
each
agency.
You
can
centrally
manage
this
process
with
our
security
freeze
service,
which
stops
companies
from
looking
at
your
credit
profile,
and
thus
halts
the
application
process
for
loans,
credit
cards,
utilities,
new
bank
accounts,
and
more.
A
security
freeze
won’t
affect
your
credit
score.
5.
Update
your
passwords
Ensure
that
your
passwords are strong
and
unique.
Many people utilize
the
same
password
or
variations
of
it
across
all
their
accounts.
Therefore,
be
sure
to
diversify
your
passcodes
to
ensure
hackers
cannot
obtain
access
to
all
your
accounts
at
once,
should
one
password
be
compromised.
You
can
also
employ
a
password
manager
to
keep
track
of
your
credentials,
such
as
the
one you’ll
find
in
comprehensive
online
protection
software.
6.
Consider
taking
out
identity
theft
coverage
If
the
unfortunate
happens
to
you,
an
identity
theft
coverage
&
restoration
service
can
help
you
get
back
on
your
feet.
Ours
offers
$1
million
in
coverage
for
lawyer
fees,
travel
expenses,
and
stolen
funds
reimbursement.
It
further
provides
support
from
a
licensed
recovery
expert
who
can
take
the
needed
steps
to
repair
your
identity
and
credit.
In
all,
it
helps
you
recover
the
costs
of
identity
theft
along
with
the
time
and
money
it
takes
to
recover
from
it.
7.
Clean
up
your
personal
data
online
You
can
take
this
step
any
time,
even
if
you
haven’t
been
caught
up
in
a
data
breach.
The
fact
is
that
data
broker
companies
collect
and
sell
thousands
of
pieces
of
information
on
millions
and
millions
of
people
worldwide,
part
of
a
global
economy
estimated
at
$200
billion
U.S.
dollars
a
year.
And
they’ll
sell
it
to
anyone—from
advertisers
for
their
campaigns,
to
scammers
who
will
use
it
for
spammy
emails,
texts,
and
calls,
and
to
thieves
who
use
that
information
for
identity
theft.
Yet
you
can
clean
it
up.
Our
personal
data
cleanup
service
can
scan
some
of
the
riskiest
data
broker
sites
and
show
you
which
ones
are
selling
your
personal
info.
It
also
provides
guidance
on
how
you
can
remove
your
data
from
those
sites
and,
with
select
products,
even
manage
the
removal
for
you.
8.
Use
online
protection
software
and
expand
your
security
toolbox
Comprehensive
online
protection
software
will
offer
you
the
tools
and
services
listed
above,
along
with
further
features
that
can
protect
you
online.
That
includes
a
VPN
to
keep
your
time
online
more
private
from
online
data
collection
while
protecting
it
from
thieves
who’re
out
to
steal
credit
card
and
account
information.
It
also
includes
web
browsing
protection
that
can
warn
you
of
sketchy
websites
and
malicious
downloads
that
look
to
steal
your
information.
In
all,
it’s
thorough
protection
for
your
devices,
privacy,
and
identity.
And
in
a
time
of
data
breaches,
that
kind
of
protection
has
become
essential.
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