With Equifax’s compromised security, many clients are highly concerned as to how this hack may affect them. While you may have never contacted Equifax, your credit information may still be held by the company. As one of the three main credit reporting agencies, Equifax organizes and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide.
So, if you don’t have a choice on who holds your data, how do you protect yourself? The No. 1 login to protect is your email. You likely have stored emails from your bank and other financial institutions, and places you shop or do business with. With that information, a thief needs only to request a password reset from a website, often with some basic information—birthdays, anniversaries or pet names, all of which could easily be in your email. Henssler Financial, like most financial institutions, will not take actions or directions solely from a client’s email. We will confirm all requests with a phone call to the client.
Protect your email by using a service that utilizes multi-factor authentication. You should also use a password as lengthy as the system allows. Password complexity is determined by its overall length; therefore, if the system will allow you to use 17+ characters with uppercase, lowercase, special characters and numbers, take advantage of that. If you are concerned with remembering random alpha-numeric strings for every website you visit, use a password manager that allows you to save logins and passwords for nearly every website you visit.
As an investor, you need to be extremely careful with phishing attempts. Hackers will send an email pretending to be your bank or other financial institution claiming that there has been a suspicious attempt to access your account. Links contained in this email will likely take you to a fake website made to look like your bank. It may seem like a simple ploy, but unfortunately, these tactics are often successful.
With about 143 million people’s information compromised, it isn’t hard to believe you may be one of them. You can lock down your credit by placing a freeze on your credit. This prevents anyone from accessing your credit without your permission. However if a this method is something you can’t do because you need to access your credit, you should closely monitor your accounts for new inquiries and new lines of credit using annualcreditreport.com. Every four months, you can request your credit report from one of the three credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. CreditKarma.com allows you to monitor two of the three agencies continually.
You should also understand the difference between a compromised account and new accounts and other frauds. Thieves will hack websites that store credit card information, and then sell those numbers to other thieves who make fake cards for other thieves to use. Most credit card companies have procedures in place to refute erroneous charges, close the compromised account, and provide you with a new credit card.
Identity fraud is much more invasive and damaging. Thieves can use your identity at hospitals for medical treatments; provide your information to police during an arrest; file tax returns, and open new lines of credit under your name. If victimized, you’ll want to alert the police, credit bureaus, your banks and financial institutions, the IRS, Social Security Administration and more. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that recovering from identity theft takes an average of six months and 200 hours of work.
If you have questions regarding the safety of your online accounts, the experts at Henssler Financial will be glad to help:
- Experts Request Form
- Email: experts@henssler.com
- Phone: 770-429-9166.
This article is meant to provide valuable background information on particular investments, NOT a recommendation to buy. The investments referenced within this article may currently be traded by Henssler Financial. All material presented is compiled from sources believed to be reliable and current, but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The contents are intended for general information purposes only. Information provided should not be the sole basis in making any decisions and is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified professional, such as a tax consultant, insurance adviser or attorney. Although this material is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with respect to the subject matter, it may not apply in all situations. Readers are urged to consult with their adviser concerning specific situations and questions. This is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell any financial instruments. It is not our intention to state, indicate or imply in any manner that current or past results are indicative of future profitability or expectations. As with all investments, there are associated inherent risks. Please obtain and review all financial material carefully before investing. Henssler is not licensed to offer or sell insurance products, and this overview is not to be construed as an offer to purchase any insurance products.
