You can never be too careful when it comes to the privacy and security of your precious data, as the recent Equifax security breach -- which affected the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, from mid-May into July, exposing names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and over 209,000 credit card numbers -- has proven.
Protect your assets:- Start with Equifax. Find out if you’ve been compromised by the latest breach.
- Get a free Dark Web Scan with Experian. Identity thieves can use the “Dark Web” to buy and sell your personal information. Your email address can give criminals easy access to any accounts associated with it, including your banking and personal information.
- If you think you’ve been compromised, call your bank and credit card companies and set up a credit freeze, cancel your old card(s), and alert them to a potential compromise.
- Monitor your credit report. Take advantage of a number of free (and secure) sites to monitor your credit, including www.annualcreditreport.com.
- Change passwords and login information often, using a password that is a difficult-to-guess combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Consider identity theft protection
Given the growing threat of cybercriminals, more employers are offering identity theft protection as a voluntary product employees can purchase. According to a recent report by Willis Towers Watson, it’s expected nearly 70% of employers will offer some type of coverage in 2018.
To learn about identity theft options and costs, ask your employer to introduce voluntary worksite products. These affordable plans offer services that will alert you of suspicious threats and reimburse expenses incurred due to your stolen identity. Bukaty Companies voluntary products division represents several vendors with different plan features.
