My child had her data stolen—here’s how to protect your kids from identity theft

Recently, I received a letter in the mail from a company about a data breach. The letter said that the company had been a victim of a cyberattack back in March in which files were scrambled what we know as ransomware. The attacker had also accessed sensitive files and customer health data. Sadly,...

Involved in a data breach? Here’s what you need to know

If you've received a message from a company saying your data has been caught up in a breach, you might be unsure what to do next. We've put together some tips which should help you when the more or less inevitable happens. 1. Check the companys advice Every breach is different, so check the...

Scary Fraud Ensues When ID Theft & Usury Collide

Whats worse than finding out that identity thieves took out a 546 percent interest payday loan in your name? How about a 900 percent interest loan? Or how about not learning of the fraudulent loan until it gets handed off to collection agents? One readers nightmare experience spotlights what can...

Experian’s Credit Freeze Security is Still a Joke

In 2017, KrebsOnSecurity showed how easy it is for identity thieves to undo a consumers request to freeze their credit file at Experian, one of the big three consumer credit bureaus in the United States. Last week, KrebsOnSecurity heard from a reader who had his freeze thawed without authorizatio...

Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft

I don't have a lot of good news for you. The truth is there's nothing we can do to protect our data from being stolen by cybercriminals and others. Ten years ago, I could have given you all sorts of advice about using encryption, not sending information over email, securing your web connections,...

MyEquifax.com Bypasses Credit Freeze PIN

Most people who have frozen their credit files with Equifax have been issued a numeric Personal Identification Number PIN which is supposed to be required before a freeze can be lifted or thawed. Unfortunately, if you don't already have an account at the credit bureau's new myEquifax portal, it m...

Credit Freezes are Free: Let the Ice Age Begin

It is now free in every U.S. state to freeze and unfreeze your credit file and that of your dependents, a process that blocks identity thieves and others from looking at private details in your consumer credit history. If you've been holding out because you're not particularly worried about ID...

In a Few Days, Credit Freezes Will Be Fee-Free

Later this month, all of the three major consumer credit bureaus will be required to offer free credit freezes to all Americans and their dependents. Maybe you've been holding off freezing your credit file because your home state currently charges a fee for placing or thawing a credit freeze, or...

Boys Town Healthcare Data Breach Exposed Personal Details of Patients

Another day, Another data breach! This time-sensitive and personal data of hundreds of thousands of people at Boys Town National Research Hospital have been exposed in what appears to be the largest ever reported breach by a pediatric care provider or children's hospital. According to the U.S...

Think You’ve Got Your Credit Freezes Covered? Think Again.

I spent a few days last week speaking at and attending a conference on responding to identity theft. The forum was held in Florida, one of the major epicenters for identity fraud complaints in United States. One gripe I heard from several presenters was that identity thieves increasingly are...

Survey: Americans Spent $1.4B on Credit Freeze Fees in Wake of Equifax Breach

Almost 20 percent of Americans froze their credit file with one or more of the big three credit bureaus in the wake of last year's data breach at Equifax, costing consumers an estimated $1.4 billion, according to a new study. The findings come as lawmakers in Congress are debating legislation tha...

Experian Flaw Lets Attacker Obtain Credit Freeze PIN and Access Account

By Waqas Plenty of consumers decided to go for a credit freeze This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: Experian Flaw Lets Attacker Obtain Credit Freeze PIN and Access Account...

Experian Site Can Give Anyone Your Credit Freeze PIN

An alert reader recently pointed my attention to a free online service offered by big-three credit bureau Experian that allows anyone to request the personal identification number PIN needed to unlock a consumer credit file that was previously frozen at Experian. Experian's page for retrieving...

Moving Forward and Backward From the Equifax breach

By now most financially or technically savvy people are aware of the breach disclosed by Equifax on September 7th. Equifax reports that the incident affected 143 million Americans, which is well over half of the estimated 250 million adults in the United States. The data accessed is as sensitive ...

Equifax aftermath: How to protect against identity theft

Who here is scrambling around in the aftermath of the recent breach at Equifax to figure out if you've been compromised? Who here is wondering what to do about it if you are? If you're one of the 143 million Americans whose data was accessed by cybercriminals, then you probably raised your hand...