Personal information being stolen can lead to identity theft, resulting in endless financial troubles for consumers. How can all of this be avoided? Experts say that freezing your credit immediately can help prevent identity theft.
According to CNBC, data breaches have been occurring frequently in 2024. Michael Bruemmer, Global Data Security Officer at consumer credit reporting company Experian, stated that over 1 billion identity data had already been leaked before the sensational National Public Data breach incident.
National Public Data is a background check company that has been accused of exposing 2.9 billion records in a recent lawsuit. The company claimed that the actual number of records leaked was much lower, around 1.3 million.
Stolen data often ends up on the dark web, where hackers store the information and frequently try to resell it. The dark web is part of the deep web, not accessible by traditional search engines, and information on the deep web cannot be bought back with money, nor can it be deleted. “Once information leaks out, it will exist indefinitely,” Bruemmer said.
“When you receive a data breach notification, freezing your credit should be a top priority,” said James E. Lee, Chief Operating Officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center to CNBC.
Freezing your credit is free and can be done in minutes. Credit freeze will restrict you or third parties from accessing your credit report and prevent you or others from opening new accounts in your name.
Credit freeze can be temporary or permanent and will remain in place until you lift the freeze. The most effective way to freeze your credit is to complete the process with the three major credit reporting agencies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can do it online by yourself or apply for freeze by phone or mail.
Checking your free credit report to monitor recent activity to ensure there are no errors is also a good idea.
Due to the vast scale of private data breaches, children’s information may have also been stolen. Signs parents should watch out for include unsolicited credit card mail, tax bills from the IRS, or collection notices.
“Most children do not have credit files, so we do not recommend freezing children’s credit,” Bruemmer said.
Parents can try to obtain their child’s free credit report annually on AnnualCreditReport.com. If a credit file exists, it should be frozen.
Using complex passwords, changing them regularly, using different passwords for each website, implementing two-factor authentication or encryption are all good practices. Purchasing other services, receiving alerts when personal information is published on the dark web, or monitoring whether a credit file has been established for a minor can all help prevent hackers from stealing important information.