Recently the news of a massive data breach at Capital One broke. Data breaches at large organizations that should be able to prevent them are becoming more common. Personal information including linked accounts and passwords have been stolen time and again. While you can control the security of your computer, you have no control over these large organizations. After venting your anger, do what you can to protect yourself.
Don't make it easy for a hacker who has your password: change your passwords regularly; use strong passwords; and use a different password for each account. Consider using two factor authentication for financial accounts: after logging in with your username and password, the financial institution will send an additional code to your registered email or cell phone which you must enter to complete the login process.
Monitor your bank, brokerage, and credit card accounts for unusual transactions. Be proactive: log in to these accounts regularly to check your balances. Automatic payments are easy, and you can remove yourself from the process by providing vendors your checking account number. However, that is another organization that has your personal information that could be breached. Instead, minimize your electronic footprint by pushing the amount due from your bank to the vendor rather than having the vendor pull the amount from your bank. If you prefer to remove yourself from the process, give the vendor a credit card number rather than a checking account number.
Use a credit card rather than a debit card. In the event of unauthorized charges to the account, you will be better off with a credit card. You simply tell the issuer that the charges are bogus, and they go away. With a debit card, the money is gone from your checking account; you will have to ask the bank restore it.
Consider placing a credit fraud alert or a credit freeze. A fraud alert will give the organization inquiring about your credit an alert that you might be the victim of identity theft. This will cause the organization to do further verification of your identity. Alternatively, a credit freeze will prevent an organization from accessing your credit report. If you are planning on taking out a mortgage, buying a car, etc., you would have to lift the freeze so your credit report can be accessed.
Obtain an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS. This is a PIN that you must use to file your tax return. If you have been issued an IP PIN, the IRS will not accept your tax return without it. This will prevent someone who may have accessed your social security number from filing a fraudulent tax return in your name.
Consider signing up with an identity theft monitoring service. Each of the three major credit reporting services offer this service, as do other companies. Or consider the extra services offered by ID Shield, which monitors the dark web for your information monthly, and in addition, provides legal and investigation services, included with membership, that will help restore your identity if it has been compromised.
