What should I do if I've been the victim of a data breach? Breaches often cover a wide range of data. Information that is already publicly available, such as your name or email address , is considered less of a concern.
Other details, however, can be extremely sensitive and should be kept private. For example, full credit card, which could be used to make fraudulent purchases in your name, or passwords for your online accounts.
However, in the event of a breach, sometimes, the data may be protected by encryption. Hacking attacks by foreign governments are considered less dangerous to consumers compared to data thefts by financially motivated criminal gangs because most spy do not sell or trade such information.
For example, much of the information stolen from Capital One was already public, including the names and addresses of 100 million people in the United States and Canada. But the breach also included 140,000 Social Security numbers that could be used to steal people's identities.
To assess the severity of the breach, try to identify what information is compromised.
Have I ever been a victim of a data breach?
Try to determine if your data may have been compromised by answering the following questions:
- Are you a customer of the affected company?
- Do you know what personal information the company has about you?
- Does the breach only concern data collected over a specific period of time?
Answering these questions will allow you to judge the level of risk, but remember that some organizations may hold your data without your knowledge. A typical example is the American company Equifax Inc, which suffered a breach in 2017 and paid compensation to 147 million people.
Hacked companies are usually required to notify those affected, but that's not always the case. They are usually required to post consumer guidance on their own websites about data breaches.
Under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), companies must notify victims of serious data breaches “without undue delay.” They must then clearly describe the nature of the breach, its potential consequences, and the measures being taken to address it.
What do I do if I have been the victim of a data breach?
If you think your data was breached, be alert for future scams.
Monitor your bank account balances and payment card statements carefully, especially if you believe your financial information has been compromised. If you notice any unusual activity, contact your bank or card provider immediately and notify the appropriate law enforcement agency.
Be wary of so-called phishing websites that purport to offer you information about the breach or even compensation, but are actually created by criminals to try to trick you into revealing more personal information or transferring money to the hackers' accounts.
Scammers . can also contact you directly, by phone or email, in a way that will be difficult for you to understand. If you are unsure of someone's identity, find their contact information and contact them to confirm
Experts recommend changing passwords and using a combination of letters, characters, and symbols to maintain a complex passphrase that is less likely to be cracked.
