Recently, National Public Data, a company that aggregates data to provide background checks, has confirmed there was a massive data breach involving Social Security numbers and other personal data on millions of Americans.
2.9 billion records including names, addresses, birthdays and Social Security numbers were stolen.
If you want to read more about the breach, click here.
How to check if your data was stolen
Cybersecurity firm Pentester has obtained a copy of the stolen data and created a site where you can see if your data was stolen. The site asks for first and last name, state, and birth year. Don’t give out any more information than that.
Check if your information has been leaked here: https://npd.pentester.com
What to do if your data has been stolen
One thing you can do to protect yourself is to freeze your credit – don’t just monitor it. Go to each of the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion), create accounts and freeze your credit. Refer to this website to learn how to freeze your credit. This is a free service. The credit bureaus will offer you other services for a fee but freezing your credit is free. That’s what we’ve done. You can also check your credit report and make sure you recognize all the types of credit you have.
It’s impossible to prevent breaches of this type from happening. They happen to all kinds of companies that have your information. You can protect the information you have control over. Contact us for more information about securing your accounts/devices.