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Your personal information — including your email, phone number, and even SSN — can be compromised in a data breach or hack, putting you at risk of fraud.
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If your personal information is compromised, verify the breach through official sources, then change passwords, enable 2FA, and freeze your credit. Monitor your accounts, check credit reports for fraud, and report identity theft to IdentityTheft.gov.
Data breaches happen almost daily — making it nearly impossible to keep up with them. Unfortunately, scammers take advantage of this uncertainty. They send out fake Dark Web alerts containing malicious links, or they request payment for “removing” your Social Security Number (SSN), date of birth, or driver’s license number from a breach.
Earlier this year, Change Healthcare suffered one of the largest data breaches of U.S. health and medical data to date, affecting more than 100 million people. Their response was typical of a large breach.
Here’s how you can tell it was legitimate:
The average person reuses passwords for over 50% of their accounts. Even when notified that their password has been compromised, less than a third of people change it. And those who do update their passwords don’t change them meaningfully enough to prevent future fraud.
Leaked passwords often end up in credential-stuffing lists or rainbow tables — tools hackers use to break into accounts. If any part of your old password is compromised, new variations are easier to crack. The best defense is using strong, unique passphrases from the start.
Follow National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidelines:
A credit freeze prevents anyone from accessing your credit file and is one of the best methods to stop scammers from opening new credit accounts or taking out loans in your name.
To freeze your credit, contact each of the three major credit reporting agencies. Each will ask you to prove your identity and will then provide you with a PIN that you can use to freeze your account (and later “thaw” it if you need to apply for new credit).
To thaw your credit freeze:
Cover your bases with a ChexSystems freeze:
Though credit freezes prevent lenders from accessing your credit file, they don’t protect your banking history, and scammers may try to open new accounts in your name. A ChexSystems freeze stops financial institutions from approving checking, savings, and other banking services without your consent.
To place a ChexSystems freeze:
Checking your credit reports can help you identify signs that you’ve been the victim of identity theft — such as incorrect information or new accounts that you don’t recognize. Every U.S. citizen is entitled to request a free credit report each week from all three credit reporting bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Here’s what you should look for on your credit reports:
When requesting your credit reports, you’ll need to share your name, SSN, and date of birth to verify your identity. If you moved in the past two years, you may also need to provide current and previous addresses.
An official identity theft report from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) can be helpful to recover from identity theft or a data breach. Fill out the online form at IdentityTheft.gov to receive your FTC Identity Theft Report and a personalized recovery plan.
In some cases, filing an Identity Theft Affidavit may help support your fraud claim. You can use this document to dispute multiple fraudulent debts at one time without having to fill out separate forms for every institution.
Note: Don’t confuse this Affidavit with Form 14039 which is only for victims of tax-related identity theft who have received additional documentation from the IRS.
Filing a police report can also help your case, but law enforcement will only act if you have evidence to support an investigation. Bring credit card statements, receipts, collection letters, and anything else to help them find the identity thief.
Immediately contact the fraud department of any company where your identity or personal information was misused. Explain that you’ve been the victim of identity theft — and that any debts or accounts opened in your name must be removed and wiped from your credit history.
You may also need to contact government agencies where your identity was fraudulently used. For example:
Most breach-affected companies tend to offer credit monitoring services to victims. However, not all credit monitoring services have the same depth of fraud alerts. Plus, accepting these kinds of offers can limit your options for joining class-action lawsuits in the future or seeking further compensation.
Instead, consider a service that offers a wide range of alerts like Aura. Aura monitors:
69% of general consumers have been victims of an identity crime more than once. Identity theft protection services like Aura track your most sensitive personal information and financial accounts for early signs of fraud. Every breach notification comes with suggested next steps, helping you shut down scammers as quickly as possible.
Aura also protects your data from being stolen in the first place with antivirus software, a secure password manager, a virtual private network (VPN), Safe Browsing tools, and parental controls.
If you have any questions, Aura's 24/7 Fraud Remediation team can guide you. They not only offer expert advice but can also help you take advantage of Aura’s $1 million insurance policy that covers eligible losses due to identity theft, such as:
📚 Related: What To Do If You Receive a Data Breach Alert →
Most people don’t realize their personal information has been compromised until they receive a notification from a breached company — or when they get scammed. To preemptively find out if you’ve been the victim of a data breach, you can:
But these free options only go so far. A Dark Web monitoring service like Aura scans for all forms of your sensitive information online, including:
But Aura’s coverage doesn’t stop there. Aura also watches your credit score, bank accounts, social media, and public records for suspicious activity and lets you know about potential fraud up to 250x faster than competitors.3
Editorial note: Our articles provide educational information for you to increase awareness about digital safety. Aura’s services may not provide the exact features we write about, nor may cover or protect against every type of crime, fraud, or threat discussed in our articles. Please review our Terms during enrollment or setup for more information. Remember that no one can prevent all identity theft or cybercrime.