![]() ![]() Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you’re allowed to obtain free annual credit reports from major reporting firms Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Take advantage of a free annual credit checkup. ![]() The FTC’s advice on picking a new password: “Make your password long, strong and complex. That means at least twelve characters, mixed with uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.”Ĥ. Updating your password may seem annoying but it helps protect your accounts from hackers. In the Capital One incident, the company estimates that about “80,000 linked bank account numbers of our secured credit card customers” were exposed. This advice applies not only to a Capital One account affected, but also to any other accounts that use the same password. If they notice any activity that they do not recognize … call the number on the back of their Capital One card or on their statement as soon as possible.” Capital One states that “free credit monitoring and identity protection is available to everyone affected.”ģ. “We encourage customers to monitor their credit card accounts for unusual or suspicious activity. Sign up for online or text alerts of credit card usage. The company also answers some basic questions in this frequently-asked-questions page.Ģ. Capital One has established a hotline at 1-80. But you should consider these seven protective measures.ġ. There’s no way to guarantee that your personal information won’t be hacked in today’s online environment. Particularly concerning may be the revelation that 140,000 Social Security numbers were initially estimated to be compromised. Other information potentially gained includes home and email addresses, birthdates, phone numbers and self-reported income. The company has acknowledged that the compromised information included: These were credit card customers and applicants (both individuals and small businesses), according to Capital One. About 100 million people in the United States were initially reported to be affected. If you were a victim of the recent Capital One breach, you’re not alone. “If you needed yet another nudge to start keeping an eye on your credit report to protect against identity theft, Capital One has delivered it,” explains Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attorney Seena Gressin in an article on the FTC website. But you can take some concrete steps to protect yourself in the aftermath of the recent Capital One case, as well as other breaches. The news of another massive online data breach may make you feel powerless to safeguard your financial privacy.
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