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KnowBe4? Scam Of The Week: New Massive Data Breach Poses Major Threat

There is another major data breach which pretty much covers every living adult in the United States. At this point, you have to assume that cyber criminals have highly personal information that they can use to trick you.

You need to watch out for the following things:

• Phishing emails that claim to be from your financial institution where you can 'check if your data was compromised'
• Phishing emails that claim there is a problem with a credit card, your credit record, or other personal financial information
• Calls from scammers that claim they are from your bank or credit union
• Fraudulent charges on any credit card because your identity was stolen

Here are things you can do to prevent identity theft:

• First, sign up for credit monitoring — dozens of companies do that.
• Next, freeze your credit files at the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Remember that generally it is not possible to sign up for credit monitoring services after a freeze is in place. Advice for how to file a freeze is available here on a state-by-state basis: https://consumersunion.org/research/security-freeze/ 
• Check your credit reports for free via https://www.annualcreditreport.com 
• Check your bank and credit card statements for any unauthorized activity

If you believe you may have been the victim of identity theft, here is a site where you can learn more about how to protect yourself: https://www.idtheftcenter.org. You can also call the center’s toll-free number (888-400-5530) for advice on how to resolve identify-theft issues. All of the center’s services are free.