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In 2023, 3205 data compromises affected over 353 million people in the US. By the time the final figures are out for 2024, we expect that number to be much higher. Another statistic states that 45% of Americans have had their data compromised over the last 5 years.
The result of information theft can be costly, ranging from financial loss to fraud. Read on to learn what to do if your personal information is stolen.
The first step to take is to inform relevant authorities to avoid any financial damage (if it hasn't already happened) immediately by freezing any financial accounts in your name. And, where possible change your password for every account.
If it's financial, tell your bank or your credit card issuer to tell them about the situation. If the information theft links to your finances, your bank might notice before you. The majority of financial institutions provide two measures: a fraud alert and an account freeze. You can also check through your credit report for any signs of fraudulent activity. Massive credit bureaus like Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax have a free fraud alert in their system.
In the US, a report can be made to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) using their identity theft reporting center.
Now, you can analyze how the breach in your account happened. Is it because of a weak password (if you use the same password for everything, the answer is yes)? Did you accidentally click on a spam link? Exploiting the weakness helps you prevent it from happening again.
Phishing is a serious threat (298,000 attacks in 2023) and hackers often target your email, so make sure to check any signs of unusual logging activities, like emails you didn’t send, and save and archive all the relevant material. If you can access your last account activity, look at what accounts are being used and if it wasn't you.
Try updating your security question answers along with your email. If your accounts got accessed using guessable information, it's time to change your login to something more secure.
Always look for ways to remove your data using a data removal service. So many people don't know how much of their data is online and who has access to it. You can remove almost all of your personal information from the internet and prevent third parties from accessing it and selling it to data brokers.
We'd also recommend tightening social media handles so information like your birthday, phone number, etc., can't be used against you. Social media hacks, particularly Instagram, were massive in 2023/2024, although the specific statistics haven't been released.
Your online information is much safer if the number of people who have access to it is limited.
After taking those steps, secure your accounts with two-factor authentication and stronger passwords. Don't let yourself become a victim of the growing number of online data thefts. There are so many ways more of us could improve our online safety!
