Here
are five steps to protect your identity after the Equifax Breach
Many
people were stunned to learn of the Equifax Data Breach. Over 145 million
people were affected by the breach. Here are a few things you can do to protect
yourself:
The first way to
protect your identity is to place a security freeze on your credit files at
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. For additional security, you can also
apply a freeze on your credit files at a fourth, lesser-known consumer
reporting agency, Innovis. You can do this by contacting each bureau either
through their website or through the customer service phone number. Depending
on where you live, there may be a small fee for placing the freeze. Equifax,
however, said it would not charge for credit freezes for those affected by the
data breach.
The second way to
protect your identity is to activate two-factor authentication. In today's world
of digital crime, two-factor authentication is an important extra layer of
safety. It requires not just a password but a second element, such as a code
texted to your smart phone, which you have but a fraudster can't easily access.
Set up and activate two-factor authentication on all of your existing mobile
banking, savings, credit card, home equity line of credit, and other online
accounts that offer it.
The third way to
protect your identity is to maximize your mutual fund security. Although the
Securities and Exchange Commission requires mutual funds companies to identify,
detect, and respond to red flags of identity theft, unlike FDIC-insured banks,
these investment firms aren’t required to restore assets stolen by hackers.
You
should also consider calling your 401(k) plan provider and other investment
managers to learn their fraud protection policies, as they can vary from
company to company. If your
investment company doesn't explicitly reimburse stolen funds, consider moving
your money elsewhere. Many small mutual fund companies don’t explicitly
reimburse stolen funds.
TD
Ameritrade Institutional, has an asset protection guarantee that promise to
reimburse assets stolen in unauthorized online transactions. TD Ameritrade
Institutional is the custodian for Watters Financial Services, LLC. A
custodian is a financial institution that holds customers' securities for safekeeping
to minimize the risk of their theft or loss.
To
get protection, TD Ameritrade Institutional and Watters Financial Services, LLC
request that you follow certain safeguards, which you should be doing anyway,
including regularly reviewing your account statements and promptly reporting
any errors or suspected fraud; keeping up-to-date security on any computer or
other device you use to access your account (firewall, antispyware, and
antivirus software); not responding to, clicking a link in, or opening an
attachment in an e-mail that you suspect might be fraudulent and that requests
personal financial information; and using two-factor authentication.
The fourth way to
protect your identity from the Equifax data breach is to place a fraud alert on
credit reports.
A fraud alert is different from a credit freeze. The fraud alert is a notice on
your credit report that warns both current and prospective lenders that they
must take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting credit, such
as a new credit card or loan, or extending credit on an existing account. An
alert lasts 90 days. If you’re an ID-theft victim, you can get a fraud alert
that stays in place for seven years. But you may be better off with the 90-day
alert, because that allows you to get a free credit report from each of the
four credit bureaus each time you renew the alert, which means you can get up
to 16 free reports per year.
The fifth way to
protect your identity from the Equifax data breach is to secure your smartphone
and email.
How you manage your smartphone and email accounts can be critical to your
online security. Your phone is where all your second-factor text message codes
are sent and where your mobile banking and other money apps live. Email is
where your financial institutions send alerts and password reset links.
Here's
how you can make your phone and email safer:
Activate
two-factor authentication on your email account.
Use
a password management app such as LastPass on your computer's browser and on
your phone. LastPass creates and plugs different passwords into each of your
accounts when you log in, so you don't have to invent and keep track of dozens
of passwords. This eliminates the temptation of using the same password for
multiple accounts, which can provide a master key for hackers. Never click
unsolicited, unexpected, or suspicious-looking links sent to you by email or
text. They could download malware capable of spying on your phone or personal
computer activity.
By
following these steps, you will be in a better position to protect your
identity.
If
you have additional questions, please feel free to call us at 201-843-0044 or
check out our website at:
