You’d like to think you’ll never be involved in a data breach, but the sad reality is that data breaches are happening all the time these days. A quick search online will bring up plenty of recent examples. Personal information that may be compromised in a data breach includes names, dates of birth, addresses, SINs and even credit card details. That begs the question, how do you protect yourself? Thankfully there are things you can do to be protect yourself if you’re ever a victim. Here are four simple ways to protect yourself in a data breach.
Fraud Alert
The first thing you can do is place a fraud alert on file with the credit reporting agencies Equifax and Transunion. A fraud alert is a great way to protect yourself in the event of a data breach. When a creditor pulls your file, they’re supposed to take extra precaution before approving your credit application. That means calling you on the phone to confirm your identity. This should help stop anyone who tries to a fraudulently use your personal information to obtain credit.
Credit Monitoring
While fraud alerts helps immensely, another way you can protect yourself is by signing up for credit monitoring. With credit monitoring, you can regularly check your credit history. Although it won’t stop fraud, it’ll help you spot anything suspicious. If you see anything fraudulent on your credit report, you can report it to the police.
Change Passwords
Sometimes it’s not just your name, address and personal details that are compromised. If you use your online password for more than one website, your other accounts could be compromised too if the fraudsters gain access to your email address or bank account. As such, it’s a good idea to change any of your passwords associated with the data breach. It’s better safe than sorry as the saying goes.
Credit Card Alerts
Credit cards alerts are another great way to prevent fraud. Usually there’s a bit of lag between when a data breach is discovered and when it’s made public by the company involved. As such, your credit card details may have been stolen without you even knowing it. However, by adding an alert on your credit card, you can help protect yourself. You can add an alert by text message or email every time someone makes a purchase on your credit card. If it’s too much, you can set it up so you only receive an alert for purchases over a certain threshold.
Most of us don’t check our credit card statements every single day, but by setting up alerts, you’ll know right away if someone is going on a shopping spree at your expense instead of days or weeks later.
Are you looking for other ways to protect yourself in the event of a data breach? Contact our offices today for some assistance.
Climb’s Personalized Credit Prescription provides you with customized recommendations to help rebuild your credit score.
About the Author
Sean Cooper is the bestselling author of the book, Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians. He bought his first house when he was only 27 in Toronto and paid off his mortgage in just 3 years by age 30. An in-demand Personal Finance Journalist, Money Coach and Speaker, his articles and blogs have been featured in publications such as the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Financial Post and MoneySense. Connect with Sean on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
