Recent reports that hackers gained access to a company called National Public Data in April 2024 have caused many Americans to worry that their personal information was compromised in the breach. Allegedly, many American’s social security numbers were obtained by the hackers. If you’re worried about whether the hackers obtained your information, continue reading to learn how to protect yourself from identity theft.
Check Your Credit Report
Check your credit report regularly to catch fraud and ensure that entries on your report are accurate. If you see something that looks fraudulent on your credit report, report this to the credit reporting company and ask them to remove the fraudulent entry from the report. You can also review your credit report to catch errors. It’s not uncommon for credit reports to contain errors, such as misstating the amount of a loan. It you spot any mistakes on your credit report, you can ask the credit reporting company to fix these errors. Federal law entitles you to obtain one credit report for free every year. Click here to learn more and obtain your free credit report.
Freeze Your Credit
A credit freeze restricts access to your credit report. To put a credit freeze in place, you need to contact each of the three major credit reporting companies, Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, and freeze your credit with all of them. Freezing your credit means that these companies won’t release your credit to report to creditors who want to run a credit check on you when someone applies for credit in your name. Freezing your credit prevents someone from opening an account in your name, such as taking out a new credit card in your name. This is because creditors will deny applications for new credit if they cannot run a credit check on you.
If you want to open a new credit account, you can temporarily unfreeze your credit with each of the creditor reporting companies, and then refreeze your credit once your business is taken care of. A credit freeze remains in place until you lift the freeze. You can put a credit freeze in place online, by phone, or by mail. Click here to learn more.
Fraud Alert
If you are a victim of identity theft, you can put a fraud alert in place with one of the three major credit reporting companies. Anyone who suspects that they are a victim of fraud can place a fraud alert on their credit report. A fraud alert protects you because it makes it more difficult for someone to open a new credit account in your name. A fraud alert requires businesses to verify your identity before issuing new credit in your name. Unlike a credit freeze, which you must put in place with Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, you only need to place a fraud alert with one of these companies. A fraud alert lasts one year and can be renewed. You can put a fraud alert in place online.
Click here to learn more about fraud alerts and credit freezes.