credit fraud

Equifax Breach – Protect Your Assets

You may have heard or read in the news that millions of people's sensitive personal information was stolen from Equifax due to a massive cybersecurity data breach. As one of the nation's three major credit reporting agencies, this news is not to be taken lightly. 143 million Americans were affected and you could be one of them.

As per the Federal Trade Commission, "The breach lasted from mid-May through July." What was stolen? Names, social security numbers, addresses, birth dates, driver's license numbers, and credit card numbers. Many Canadian and UK citizens were affected as well.

The free-credit-score website, WalletHub has important advice for potential victims of this widespread data breach. These tips can help you deal with the present situation as well as aid in protecting yourself in the future.

24/7 credit monitoring is a valuable protective measure, as per WalletHub. Anthony Credit Expert concurs, "The best way to protect one of your most valuable tools to leverage wealth is with a 24/7 credit monitoring service. Credit Monitoring will keep you informed by providing you with 24/7 alerts and an updated Tri-merge Report and all 3 scores every 30 days." As per WalletHub, "This gives you the chance to quickly confirm the accuracy of the change and, if necessary, start sorting out any problems before they really get out of hand. Any suspicious credit-report change can be a sign of fraud."

WalletHub also recommends enabling two-factor authentication. It adds another layer of protection to inhibit a thief from hacking your account. According to Secure Envoy, "Two Factor Authentication, also known as 2FA, two step verification or TFA is an extra layer of security that is known as "multi factor authentication" that requires not only a password and username but also something that only, and only, that user has on them. Using a username and password together with a piece of information that only the user knows makes it harder for potential intruders to gain access and steal that person's personal data or identity."

Some other ways to keep your data and identity safer? WalletHub suggests freezing your credit cards if you suspect fraud, suppression blocking which is "faster than a standard dispute, helping victims of fraud rid their reports of problematic information in a matter of days, rather than weeks. You must also take special steps to request suppression. This includes filing a police report and completing a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) affidavit," and to be diligent about who you give your personal information to. Look out for unsolicited phone calls or emails.

For more advice from WalletHub during this Equifax breach as well as for protection moving forth, follow these 6 steps to take following identity theft.

You can click here to see if you were potentially impacted by the recent breach.

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How Vulnerable Is Your State to Identity Theft & Fraud?

After the holiday shopping season, many consumers were in a panic while bustling through malls and heading online to shop 'till they (literally and figuratively) dropped. Credit cards were whipped out left and right, allowing thieves potential access to secure and personal information.

Each year, far too many people fall victim to identity theft and fraud, and the free credit-monitoring website, WalletHub, released a thorough analysis covering six key metrics, as to which states were most vulnerable to identity theft and fraud in 2016.

As per the Identity Theft Resource Center's Data Breach Report, more than 900 breaches with access to 34 million+ records took place last year. If you were one of the many people affected, you already know how this can change your life.

The states which were declared most vulnerable were:

  • 1.District of Columbia
  • 2.California
  • 3.Florida
  • 4.Massachusetts
  • 5.Nevada
  • 6.Illinois
  • 7.Texas
  • 8.Michigan
  • 9.Missouri
  • 10.Connecticut

Those which were the least vulnerable to such crimes were:

  • 1.South Dakota
  • 2.Maine
  • 3.West Virginia
  • 4.Arkansas
  • 5.North Dakota
  • 6.Iowa
  • 7.Montana
  • 8.Idaho
  • 9.Kentucky
  • 10.Oklahoma

The full report with information for each state can be reviewed on WalletHub.

As per War On ID Theft, "Every state has some or the other factor which makes it more or less vulnerable to identity theft. Factors such as unemployment, a large population of elderly people, a high tourist ratio, etc. lead to identity thefts."

In the meantime, take a moment to learn how to protect yourself from identity theft. Consider credit monitoring and using common sense online and while emailing.

Some people are more vulnerable than others. An AARP study shows that certain behaviors and experiences make a difference. "Researchers compared the life experiences of victims and non-victims, based on a nationwide survey of 11,000 adults. They found that online fraud victims have experienced 53 percent more negative life events. They felt more isolated, were twice as likely to have lost a job, worried more about debt and were nearly twice as likely to have experienced a negative change in financial status in the last two years."

Learn more about personal habits and traits you may have that can put you at risk and make appropriate changes for your protection.

For more info on how to protect your identity and credit, read these important tips from USA.gov. Don't let your credit status get ruined or lose valuable time and money getting your personal information and status back in order.

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