A guide to protect yourself before and after Identity Theft

Whether you’ve been notified that you’ve been part of a breach or not, there are important steps to take to protect yourself against serious consequences of identity theft. Some steps are easier and less time consuming than others, but doing something is better than doing nothing. Do what you can right away and then go back to do more as soon as time allows. As you read this article and click on links, you will be routed to a new tab. Be sure to return to this article/tab for additional ways to protect yourself. And with that, let’s get to the most basic and important first step!

A strong password is your first line of defense.

• Ideally, use a password manager. If not, use unique and long passwords that are impossible to guess.

Check your credit report up to 4 times a year.

• You may request one free credit report per year from each credit bureau without impacting your credit score. (Stagger a request every 3 months.)
  • • Request your free credit report from Experian, TransUnion, Equifax and then review it for activity not belonging to you.
    • Request a free Innovis credit report. Then review it for problematic activity.
• Take immediate action if you find any activity you do not recognize as your own. A way to report and correct it will be found on each site.
• Avoid requesting more than 4 reports per year (if possible) as that will impact your credit score.

Protect yourself from ID Theft

Place a separate fraud alert or a credit freeze with each one of the 4 credit bureaus.

• The fastest and easiest way to do this is online but you can also do it via telephone or US postal service. 
  • A fraud alert identifies an individual as a fraud victim and requests that the business obtaining a credit report contact that person before granting credit in that name. (It lasts for a maximum of 7 years until removed.)
  • A credit freeze prevents anyone from accessing a specific credit history. (A PIN is required to access that credit history and the credit file must be unfrozen before applying for credit or other services that require accessing that credit history.)
    • Experian: 888-397-3742  Place Fraud Alert or Place a Security Freeze.
    • TransUnion: 800-680-7289  Place a Fraud Alert or Place a Security Freeze.
    • Equifax: 888-766-0008  Place a Fraud Alert or Place a Security Freeze.
    • Innovis:  866-712-4546 Place Fraud Alert or Place Security Freeze.
• You will need to unfreeze your credit when you need it run for your credit needs. 

Request an annual report and process a security freeze with the National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange, NCTUE.

NCTUE is a central place for telco, pay TV, security, internet, and utility companies to exchange their customer account data for broader, deeper access to consumer payment history.

• NCTUE: 866-349-5355 
  • Request a report annually
  • Process a security freeze.

Protect yourself from Social Security Fraud.

• Create an account with the Social Security Administration to monitor your earnings, estimate future benefits, and receive important updates.
  • You will need to register and then wait to receive an activation code in the mail to proceed.

Opt out of pre-screened credit card offers.

• Optoutprescreen: Click this link or call 888-5-OPT-OUT . (888-567-8688)

Protect your money in your bank and other financial accounts.

• Set alerts to be notified when money is wired out or withdrawn.
• Take action instantly if you are notified money has been wired out, if it was not done by you. A wire can only be stopped within 24 hours of being initiated so contact your bank immediately to reverse it.
  • Click here for alert examples.

Use two-factor authentication (2FA) on all important sites.

• 2FA requires two separate forms of identification in order to access something. Examples include a password plus biometrics, a code from an authenticator app, a PIN, an email link verification or a text message verification.
• 2FA is especially important on sites containing your confidential and or financial information.

Sign up for credit monitoring.

• Use a reputable company and promptly check all alerts.
• Understand that this is one of many suggested steps but it will not offer adequate protection on its own.

Opt out from all sites that will alllow you to do so.

• Since compromised highly personal data (social security numbers, passwords, addresses, birthdays, financial info and more) is easily available online and on the dark web, it is beneficial to remove as much of it as you can. This is done by contacting each site and requesting to have your data opted out from it.  It’s time consuming and opt outs are often not processed as expected. Don’t expect to completely remove all of it but know that the less you have available, the greater your ability to reduce hefty ID Theft consequences.

Please stay tuned for the next article that will provide opt out directions for a handful of important sites. This will include the National Public Data website that exposed over 2.9 billion records including sensitive information such as social security numbers! 

Until next time, Stay Cyber Safe!