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| Be prepared in this age of cyber crime! |
Colin Powell: “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
One of the most frustrating things about life is dealing with all the side effects of being an adult. Before I had a credit card, or a credit score, life seemed easier. I didn’t have to deal with different credit card companies asking if I had recently purchased things I normally wouldn’t buy. Before having a credit score, I never had to deal with a bank or a credit card issuer calling me to confirm my personal information when I did not request credit in the first place…
I’m sure most people can relate to frustrations dealing with things like these once they started having credit. In my personal experience, I’ve had three of my credit cards hacked. In each of these instances, someone bought goods using my credit cards.
In the first case, someone charged $900+ worth of sneakers at a Foot Locker in Maryland, when I was living in Pennsylvania. Luckily, my credit card company notified me via phone that they noticed an unusual charge. They agreed to issue me a new credit card and cancel the first card.
In the second (and the third) case, someone charged trivial amounts of money, something like $1.99 on Amazon, and a $20 charge for a subscription service that I know I didn’t sign up for. My credit card company thought they were doing this as a trial, to see if they’ll go through. They would then use them to buy more expensive things. Again, I had to be issued new credit cards to replace the cancelled ones.
The last straw, sort to speak, was when a credit card company called and left me a voicemail message to confirm my identity before issuing a credit card. I called the credit card company in question using the phone number I obtained via Google search.
I politely told them that I didn’t request one, and asked to cancel the credit card application. They wanted to get my social security number and my birthdate so they can confirm my identity, so I refused. I let them know I couldn’t give them my personal information when I didn’t request credit. After going back and forth for a minute, they decided to cancel the application.
After going through this, I’ve had it! I realized my identity had been stolen or hacked by persons unknown. It could’ve happened literally any number of ways:
- Credit card company(s) data was hacked or my identity stolen by an employee of the credit card company
- My then current employer, or any number of previous employers’ data was hacked, or identity stolen by an employee/ex-employee
- Doctor offices were hacked or identity stolen by an employee
- Government organizations were hacked or identity stolen by an employee of the government
It would be almost impossible to figure out/track down where the leak was. I’m no Sherlock Holmes, nor the FBI. What I can tell you is that it’s not important how it was leaked, stolen, or hacked. What is important is that we need to take every precaution and prepare ourselves to survive these times…
These days, it seems every company/government organizations are getting hacked into at one time or another. If it’s not the Russians, the Chinese, the North Koreans, the Iranians, or any other nation states that does not like the United States trying to hack our data, then there are the criminal organizations that hack for a living. Think ransom wares that hijack files and hold them for ransom, threatening the hacked to pay up or else, lose all the files. This is modern day version of blackmail and/or extortion.
Important Tip: If you suspect your credit card (or your identity) has been compromised or stolen, do the following steps immediately:
1. For suspicious activity on a credit card:
Contact the bank that issued your credit card to let them know. It’s always better to work with your bank to resolve issues like these. Typically, a credit card company will notify you for unusual activity, but you can also contact them if you notice something is suspicious.
Monitor your credit card usage periodically!
2. For identity theft:
Call up any of the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) to let them know you suspect identity theft. They’ll work with you to sort things out.
Report Identity Theft to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at IdentityTheft.gov or 1-877-438-4338. They’ll collect the details of your situation.
After doing that, do a credit freeze by following the steps below.
In this crazy, unsafe environment for anyone with a credit score, freezing your credit may be the only way to ensure no one opens credit under your identity. Here’s how:
- Search online for ‘Experian credit freeze’, ‘Equifax credit freeze’, or ‘TransUnion credit freeze’
It doesn’t matter which credit rating agency you choose to freeze your credit with. Once you freeze with one, you’ll be freezing it with all of them.
In this example below, I’m searching for ‘Experian credit freeze’.
In this example, I’m using an Experian credit freeze. Click where it says “New to Experian? Sign up.”
- Fill in your information then click “Submit and Continue.”
- The following screen will ask you questions about your past credit history, as well as places where you lived or worked
Be sure to take your time answering these questions carefully, as you don’t want to get these questions wrong. Otherwise, you may need to call the credit rating agency to speak to someone to do the same thing.
Tip: You do not need to purchase anything to freeze/unfreeze your credit. Don’t click on anything to sign up for expanded protection or similar!
- If you’ve successfully answered all the questions correctly, then you’ll be able to freeze your credit
By freezing your credit, no one, including you, will be able to apply for credit. This ensures that no one, even if someone has your identity, should be able to open a line of credit as you.
Few years ago, I tried to apply for a new credit card. It was turned down by the credit card bank, which surprised me. When I called the bank, they mentioned there’s a freeze on my credit. I had completely forgotten about that! I went ahead and unfroze my credit that day, and I was approved the same day.
I can safely report that since freezing my credit, I have not had any other instances where someone tried to open a line of credit of any sort, like a credit card.
- Unfreeze credit as needed, for when you do need to apply for credit
Note you’ll want to periodically unfreeze your credit as needed. For example, if you’re applying for a loan, you’ll want to log back in to the same website to unfreeze your credit for any number of specified dates.
The option to unfreeze your credit will be on the main homepage when you login. This change to unfreeze is immediate.
In conclusion:
In these times of unscrupulous individuals, nation states, and organizations trying to pry you away from your money, good name, and credit, it’s more important than ever to protect yourself. Freezing your credit may be the ‘nuclear’ option, but sometimes this is what’s needed to really protect your credit.
Identity theft is so prevalent these days, and it can happen to anyone. Protect yourself by not sharing your social security number with anyone (unless absolutely necessary), keep close track of your credit card purchases, and freeze your credit.
You can’t rely on anyone else to safeguard your own credit. You have to do it yourself. This is part of being an adult. It’s not fun, and it surely ain’t exciting, but it’s something you’ll want to know how to do, in order to protect yourself.
Assume your identity was already stolen. This way, you’ll do everything you can to block any way for someone else to use your identity to open up credit as you.
Thank you all for reading and don’t forget to safeguard your future!
Jake
Wandering Money Pig
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