Non-Political PSA

In all likelihood, you HAVE been compromised

You probably heard about the NPD breach of Social Security Numbers. There is a high probability that your personal data was hijacked. You can use this site to check. If you decide to use a different site, BE CERTAIN that they don’t require that you enter your Social Security number.

There are several things you can do if you were a victim of this breach (or any of the others… they happen pretty constantly, and we don’t find out for months afterwards.)

Fraud Alert

A fraud alert requests creditors who view your credit report to verify your identification before approving credit in your name in case someone is using your information without your permission. Note that this is a REQUEST, not a given.

You only need to place this alert with any one of the three credit reporting bureaus, that bureau will inform the other two. If you have a credit card that is hijacked, when you call the credit card company to replace your credit card, they can also place the freeze for you as part of that process.

Credit Freeze

A credit freeze prevents new creditors from seeing your credit report, meaning no new credit can be opened in your name. If you do this, you must do it separately for each of the three credit bureaus. Also, if you do this and you want a new credit card, car loan, mortgage, etc. you will need to lift the freeze.

If you want to freeze your credit:

Equifax - site

Experian - site

TransUnion - site

Note that this doesn’t block all inquiries. For example, the credit bureaus will still hand out your credit information in the face of court orders. Also, existing creditors who request soft inquiries will get that information. For example, if you have auto insurance, your company will be able to check your credit for your renewal.

IRS IP PIN

When a Social Security Number is compromised, someone could file taxes using that Social Security Number. Meaning you’d never get your refund, plus other horrors. You can get a PIN from the IRS. You’ll put that number on your tax return, so the IRS knows it’s you. Site

SSA Lock

If your Social Security Number is hijacked, someone else can use it to get a job. You can lock your Social Security Number here. If you are looking for a job, you will need to unlock your number for E-Verify as part of the hiring process, and then re-lock it.

Credit Monitoring

There are a number of companies that monitor your credit. If you’re like me, you have free years of access due to previous breaches where (in my case) the insurance companies pay for it. Some of these companies only monitor, others, like LifeLock and IdentityForce (the two biggest - there are many others) will actually help you if your identity is stolen, at a monthly subscription cost.

Best Practices

• NEVER give out your Social Security Number unless there is no other choice (like when filing your taxes.) All sorts of companies request your Social Security Number on forms. Just leave it blank or ask them why they must have it. Sometimes there is no alternative, but protect your Social Security Number if at all possible.

• NEVER carry your Social Security Card with you, unless there is a compelling reason to do so. Some employers will tell you that to get hired, you need to show them your card, but per the SSA this is not true. ONLY in Pennsylvania do you need to physically show your card to get Real ID, every other State and Commonwealth is normal. Generally, you don’t need the card itself, only the number (which you should memorize.)

• Most major credit card companies, like Chase, monitor your credit as a function of you having a credit card with them. While they’ll alert you if they see something, it pays to check once a month or so to make sure there are no accounts you didn’t know about, or charges on a card you own that isn’t from that credit card company. You should check your statements at least once a month for any charges you find questionable.

• Accept that you either have or will be hacked. Not through anything you did, but because stores, insurance companies, medical billing companies, even credit reporting services and the US government don’t do enough to protect data.

Hope that helps - you probably knew a lot of this, but the IRS and SSA information is likely new to you. Please share with others, as we are all in this together.