AT&T data breach is warning to consumers to protect themselves
What should you do if your data is breached?
If you get a notice in the mail or otherwise, that your personal information has been caught up in a data breach, you don't want to take it lightly. The kind of information that can be included, like date of birth, social security numbers, and credit card numbers, is not the kind of stuff you want out floating in the wind.
HOUSTON - If you get a notice in the mail or otherwise, that your personal information has been caught up in a data breach, you don't want to take it lightly. The kind of information that can be included, like date of birth, social security numbers, and credit card numbers, is not the kind of stuff you want out floating in the wind.
If you've never gone through this, a great resource can be found at identitytheft.gov from the Federal Trade Commission. It's got a great checklist of things you should do, depending on the type of information that's been compromised. Also, notices of data-breaches often include an offer of credit monitoring. You should definitely take advantage of that.
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There are limitations to those protections, however. Credit monitoring does a fairly good job letting you know when there have been inquiries, new accounts, or address and name changes attached to your information.
What it won't do is 'stop' those unauthorized accounts or lines of credit, and it won't keep your name off subsequent data breaches. To help do that, you've got take personal responsibility.
"Be proactive; take the time; go ahead and change that password or passcode," says cyber security expert David Malicoat. "I think just taking a few minutes gives you some piece of mind. I think, further, that is, that you don't reuse passwords."
That last warning is important, says Malicoat, because once one password is known, it becomes a key to wherever that password is used.
Consumers can also keep track of their credit report regularly. The Federal Trade Commission notes that the three credit bureaus have permanently extended a program that lets consumers check their credit report from each one, once a week, for free.
For more tips and protection from the Federal Trade Commission, click here.