If your personal information hasn’t already been exposed in a încălcarea datelor, it likely will. Data breaches happen almost every day and it’s a matter of when, not if, your information will be exposed.
I’m not trying to scare you, but we all should be prepared. It’s a topic I think about often as a cybersecurity and credit card editor for CNET. I’m not invulnerable to hackers’ attempts either. Just the other day, I got a scam text telling me to click a link to secure my Coinbase account. That means my phone number has already been exposed on the dark web in one data breach.
In May, three major company data breaches occurred in a single week. User data was leaked from Steam şi Coinbase along with login information for tech companies like Google and Meta.
“Most people think that they’re not going to be subject to a breach or some kind of identity theft situation or an impersonation. But the reality is far different from that,” said Chelsea Binns, an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a certified fraud examiner.
We have no problem locking up our valuables in a safe so why not take that same approach with our data?
“You wouldn’t leave your Rolex watch on your front step,” Binns said. “Yet people will have their bank account under ‘password123,'” she said.
You can’t prevent a data breach, but you can lock down your data. If you’re not using strong passwords, two-factor authentication, antivirus software or are sharing too much on social media, you aren’t just leaving your backdoor unlocked, you’re holding the door open for criminals. And once they’re in, they can do all sorts of things to make your life difficult, experts say.
What can criminals do with my exposed data?
Any information criminals obtain, whether from a breach or a lapse in security, can, and probably will, be used against you.
“The question is, what can’t they do?” Binns said. “They can really do anything that you can do because they’re impersonating you. The possibilities are endless depending on the information that they’ve obtained.”
Some examples include opening credit cards in your name, buying a house or a car, or even using your health insurance. If a criminal were to get their hands on your private information, they’re able to do anything you can do with it.
And these aren’t necessarily easy things to fix once they’re out there. A criminal using a new line of credit can tank your credit score, which can take years to repair.
A friend of mine had his identity stolen a few years ago and the thief bought a new car using my friend’s name. The bank came after him instead of the criminals until he could verify that he never made the purchase. It took him a long time to get his credit score back up from the 300 it had dropped to.
While criminals also conduct more elaborate schemes like synthetic identity theft, Binns added that they often simply sell your data to the highest bidder on the dark web.
“It’s the most profitable and just the easiest thing for them to do is flip it,” she said. But the bad actors they sell it to could very well use it to open lines of credit, destroy your credit score and steal your money.
How to improve your personal digital security
You don’t have to be perfect out of the gate. You can implement the snowball effect by starting with some easy changes. For example, have conversations with your family members to create secret passphrases to ensure they’re talking with you, and not an imposter looking to steal personal information or money.
There are other things you can start to do now to improve your security. Your future self will thank you in the event of a data breach or other exposure.
Use complex, unique passwords
If you’re sharing certain details on social media, and people have your birthdate or the street you grew up on, chances are they have enough information to run a credential stuffing scam. That’s when criminals brute-force your accounts, hoping that you’ve used the same passwords made up of your own personal information on multiple websites.
Don’t make it easy for them by having your bank and social account passwords be yourbirthday1234.
Instead, consider either using a manager de parole to create complex passwords for you and save them or building unique passwords yourself. Use a mix of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Make it long and winding for the best defense.
Freeze your credit reports
Your credit reports should be frozen unless you’re planning to apply for a line of credit. You can freeze your credit reports easily with each of the three credit bureaus, and this will stop anyone (including you) from taking out a credit card, mortgage or car loan.
“You can freeze your own credit at absolutely no cost to you. Unless you’re planning to buy a house tomorrow, doing something like that imminently, then there’s no need to have it open,” Binns said. You can even freeze your kid’s credit to keep them safe.
Share less information on social media
Neal O’Farrell, a cybersecurity expert and founder of the Identity Theft Council, sums it up well: “Share less on social media and keep your accounts private,” he said.
He added, “If you’re asked for personal information like your home address or date of birth, unless it’s essential for the service or a legal requirement, use phony information. Facebook thinks I was born in 1906!”
Before you post on Instagram or LinkedIn, consider what signals you’re giving. Are you providing unnecessary details that could be used against you or your loved ones?
For example, if you’re traveling abroad and posting about it, a bad actor may target your grandparents or parents with a scam saying you’re in a foreign prison or otherwise injured to pressure them into sending money.
“Sharing information in real time, showing that you’re on vacation and where you are, gives people material for their schemes and it makes it more believable,” Binns said.
At the very least, make sure your defenses are strong enough that you can share things and not have them provide a way into your accounts.
Consider identity theft protection
În timp ce ID theft protection şi credit monitoring services aren’t mandatory to keep you safe, Binns said they’re worth it if they give you peace of mind. But she added that if your credit reports are frozen, you don’t really need to have them monitored.
Identity theft protection services can be helpful in the event your identity is stolen. Some provide identity restoration services and have identity theft insurance of up to $1 million. They can also monitor your bank accounts and provide free online security tools like password managers and antivirus protection.
“While identity protection and credit monitoring have their limits,” O’Farrell said, “I’d recommend considering using them if you can afford to. Many of the features they offer can be very helpful in either preventing or recovering from a crime.”
He also said these services can provide helpful reminders for the things we should all be doing regularly. That’s checking your credit, updating your passwords and staying up to date on the latest scams.
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