National Public Data Hack Exposes Millions: Essential Steps to Safeguard Your Identity and Combat Fraud
A massive data breach at National Public Data (NPD), a background check company, potentially exposed personal information for millions of individuals. The compromised data includes Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, names of family members, and more. One hacker claims to possess 2.7 billion records.
The National Cybersecurity Alliance estimates that “everyone with a Social Security number was impacted.” Stolen data is already appearing on the dark web, increasing the risk of identity theft. However, you can take measures to reduce your risk.
Key Steps to Protect Your Identity:
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Review Account Statements and Credit Reports: Regularly monitor your account statements and credit reports. Report any signs of unusual activity to the financial institution promptly.
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Contact the Fraud Department: If you detect suspicious activity, contact the fraud department and request that they close the account. If they won’t close the account immediately, implore them to freeze it. Secure a letter from the company confirming the account wasn’t yours, you’re not responsible for it, and it’s gone from your credit report. Document your conversations.
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Get Identity Theft Protection: Consider purchasing identity theft protection services. Services like IdentityForce UltraSecure + Credit and LifeLock Ultimate Plus have received high ratings. These services monitor the dark web, file credit freezes, and remove your data from databases.
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Get Your Free Credit Report: Obtain a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) annually.
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Place a Fraud Alert: You can place a free initial fraud alert on your credit report by contacting any of the three credit reporting agencies. This alert lasts one year and requires businesses to verify your identity before extending credit. This protects you but might cause delays in obtaining credit.
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Consider an Extended Fraud Alert: If you’ve been a victim of identity theft and filed a police report, consider an extended fraud alert, which lasts seven years.
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Place a Security Freeze: Place a free security freeze on your credit report through each of the credit reporting agencies. This restricts access to your credit report without your written permission. Be aware this might delay credit approval.
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Lifting or Removing a Security Freeze: You can lift or remove a security freeze, at no charge. You’ll need to provide proper identification and a PIN or password you received when you placed the freeze. To lift it, you must contact each credit reporting agency.
Contact Information for Credit Reporting Agencies:
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Equifax: P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348 | 800.525.6285
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Experian: P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 | 888.397.3742
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TransUnion: P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016 | 800.680.7289
Additional Steps:
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Report to Law Enforcement and the FTC: File a police report with your local police and with the FTC at www.ftc.gov/idtheft or by calling 877.ID.THEFT (877.438.4338).
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Notify the IRS: You may wish to complete and submit IRS Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit.
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Correct Credit Reports: Write to each credit bureau to dispute any information that resulted from identity theft and request its removal.
