Senior Internet Safety

A Practical Guide to Staying Secure Online

Data Breaches

What are they?

Releases of personal information such as email addresses, usernames, passwords, and even credit card numbers and social security numbers to the general public and dark web servers.

How to know if your information was compromised

  • You receive an email, letter, or notification from the company.
  • Unusual account activity, such as password reset requests.
  • Use services like Have I Been Pwned to check if your email was part of known breaches.

How breaches happen

Companies or organizations have their databases hacked, exposing customer information.

Companies are required to notify customers if their data was part of a breach.

Steps to Take After a Breach

Steps to Take After a Breach

  1. 1

    Change passwords immediately. Specifically for the affected account and any other accounts using the same password.

  2. 2

    Enable two-factor authentication on all affected accounts.

  3. 3

    Notify your bank. Add additional account protection.

  4. 4

    Monitor credit reports and bank statements. Look closely for suspicious behavior for several months following the breach.

Credit Monitoring Services & Credit Freezes

Credit Monitoring Services & Credit Freezes

Credit monitoring services

A credit bureau collects your financial data, like loan payments and balances, to create detailed reports.

Credit monitoring services alert you to changes in your credit report.

Credit freezes

A credit freeze prevents new accounts from being opened in your name.

It’s FREE to freeze and unfreeze your credit with all three bureaus.

You can get a free annual report from each of the “Big Three” bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, at AnnualCreditReport.com.