Cyber criminals have stolen 143 million credit records in the recent hacking scandal at big-three credit bureau Equifax. At this point, you have to assume that the bad guys have highly personal information that they can use to trick you.
You need to watch out for the following things:
- Phishing emails purporting to be from Equifax, offering you the opportunity to check to see whether your data has been stolen.
- Phishing emails that claim there is an issue with a credit card, your credit record, or other sensitive 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 5 things you can do to prevent identity theft:
- Sign up for credit monitoring (there are many companies providing that service, including Equifax, but we cannot recommend it).
- Freeze your credit files at the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Remember that it is generally not possible to sign up for credit monitoring services after a freeze is in place. Advice on how to file a freeze is available here on a state-by-state basis: http://consumersunion.org/research/security-freeze/.
- Check your credit reports via the free 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: 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.
How can you protect yourself?
- Implement a proven network security solution with intrusion detection (i.e. Fortinet).
- Invest in security awareness training – Did you know that 91% of successful data breaches started with a spear-phishing attack?
- Test your users to make sure they are aware of phishing dangers.
- As always, THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK!
Contact Digicorp to Discuss Network Security and Security Awareness Training Options.
