Protect Your Identity #BreachWatch

This summer has provided us with a few alarming moments in regard to protecting our personal identity.  Big news on the forefront for Minnesota was Target and Cub Foods having a data breach and even more recently, Home Depot’s confirmed their data system had been hacked.  When a data breach takes place, important information like your social security number, credit card and bank account numbers, and even health information can be left vulnerable and potentially accessed by an unauthorized individual.  

A person who receives a data breach notification letter is four times more likely to become a victim of identity theft.  🙁  Once these thieves have your information, they cause identity theft, employment related fraud, loan and payday fraud, bank fraud, benefits fraud, and even tax fraud.

Companies who have experienced a data breach often provide free identity protection services, but if you want to take matters into your own hands to provide peace of mind, LifeLock can help.  The LifeLock program can monitor, scan, restore, guarantee, and track activity to help protect you from fraud.  

LifeLock has a $1 Million Service Guarantee.  If you are a victim of identity theft while a LifeLock member, they will spend up to $1 million to help you recover by hiring investigators, lawyers, and more.  

Here are some unfortunate statistics provided by LifeLock on data breaches:

• 7% of U.S. consumers received a data breach notification in 2010
• Data breach victims spend an average of 41 hours on resolution
• Total breaches in 2010: 662 
• Total number of records exposed in 2010: 16,167,542 

When news of a potential Home Depot breach was released, LifeLock shared the following tips on how to protect yourself:

1. Monitor your transactions: Keep an eye on the activity on your credit and debit card accounts, looking for any charges that don’t seem to be yours.

2. Report suspicious transactions immediately: If you see a card transaction—even a small one—that doesn’t look right, contact the card issuer immediately. The phone number is on the back of your card.

3. Order a new debit card: If you believe your debit card number was compromised, don’t wait for fraudulent charges to start appearing on your statement. Request a new card from your bank. This way, you reduce the chances of a criminal depleting your bank account, and you avoid potential challenges in recovering your funds. Credit cards offer more protection and less risk because funds are not directly withdrawn from your bank account as they are with a debit card. 

4. Follow the story: Investigation of this crime is still under way. Watch for news and communication from Home Depot.

5. Consider using an identity protection service: LifeLock provides identity protection products and services you can count on. In fact, with LifeLock Advantage™ and LifeLock Ultimate Plus™, we can help you detect fraudulent activity with alerts for cash withdrawals, balance transfers and large purchases within our extensive network. 

There are three LifeLock plans to choose from:  LifeLock Standard, LifeLock Advantage, and LifeLock Ultimate Plus.  To try LifeLock today, enter code breachwatch to receive a 10% discount.