Finding out someone has cracked open your accounts and helped themselves to your information can be alarming, but there are ways to mitigate the damage while jump-starting your recovery process. Here are three steps to take after being hacked.
Step 1: Assess the damage
First, take a step back and determine how much damage was done. Unfortunately, one hacked password can often be the gateway to multiple hacked accounts and even complete identity theft. This is especially true if you use the same password for several accounts, or use the hacked account or device for password recovery on other accounts. Audit your email, social media accounts and mobile devices to see if they’ve also been tampered with.
Step 2: Change your passwords
Once you know which accounts and devices have been hacked, change the passwords and PINs on these accounts. For an added measure of protection, it’s a good idea to change the passwords on all of your accounts that may hold sensitive information. Remember to choose strong, unique passwords for every account. A strong password uses a combination of letters, numbers and symbols; varies the use of capital letters; and does not use a piece of personal information that can easily be scraped off the internet, such as your date of birth or home address.
While completing this step, consider signing up for two-factor authentication for any accounts that do not already have it in place.
Step 3: Protect your credit with Benefits Plus®
Once you upgrade your basic checking account to a Benefits Plus® checking with SeaComm, you will gain access to identity theft services, free annual credit reports, IDT Restoration Rescue® and more!
You may even upgrade to Benefits Plus® Premium, which provides you with all of the advantages of a Benefits Plus® checking account, plus additional protection from Ultimate ID®, which includes:
- 3 bureau credit monitoring
- Internet monitoring
- Instant inquiry alerts
- Remediation and lost documentation replacement services.
Visit your local SeaComm branch to enroll, today!
For complete information, terms, conditions and exclusions please visit www.benefits-plus.org or call 866-329-7587.
If you feel that you might be a victim of fraud, the U.S government recommends that you first file a report with your local police department. You should also contact your state consumer protection office and your credit union when you first see signs of suspicious activity. Click here for more tips from the Federal Trade Commission!