You may have read the recent news articles about National Public Data and the largest security breach in history (so far). If not, the short version is that a data broker entrusted with confidential information about, well, just about everyone in the US, exposed that information. To be clear, this is not an issue limited to services you have an account for or information you have control over. The target was a firm that gathers information to provide background checks and similar services to third parties. If you have a social security number, it may have been one of the 272 million that were leaked in this incident.
If you’d like more details about the breach itself, check out these articles by USA Today, MacRumors, or Krebs on Security. If you prefer video, here is a CBS Report. National Public Data also addressed the breach on their website.
Was My Information Leaked?
It’s safe to assume your information is leaked, but you can check by entering your name, state, and birth year into this form. Be sure to run the search for each state you’ve lived in and any names you have used in the past. When I checked, most of my information was outdated or incorrect. However, I did confirm that my social security number was exposed in connection with my name.
Protecting Yourself
Because this breach doesn’t involve a service you signed up for, you can’t change your account passwords to secure yourself from identity fraud. Good password hygiene (or better yet, using passkeys) is great for protecting you from other types of attacks, but it won’t help in this case. Regarding the National Public Data breach, freezing your credit is the only recourse you have. This will make it harder for criminals to steal your identity using the exposed information.
Pros and Cons of Freezing Your Credit
Freezing your credit is quick and easy, and it will prevent others from creating accounts or borrowing money in your name. I was able to freeze my credit at all three major reporting agencies in about 15 minutes. That included creating accounts at each agency. One tried to sell me an optional credit monitoring package, which was kind of annoying, but for the most part, the process was straightforward. Each agency used multifactor authentication (sent me a text with a code) to protect my security while I was creating the accounts.
The only downside to freezing your credit is if you are searching for a loan or opening a new credit card, you must log in and unfreeze your credit first. As long as you still have your login credentials, it’s even quicker and easier than freezing it. The flip side of this is that folks without access to your accounts at the credit reporting agencies won’t be able to unfreeze it without you. When the loan/account has been approved, you can freeze your credit again.
How to Freeze Your Credit
Follow the prompts at each of these three websites to freeze your (and your kids’) credit:
Aside from the three main credit bureaus, you may want to consider freezing your files at LexisNexis, ChexSystems, and other secondary bureaus.
Make sure to save your login information in a safe place, so you can unfreeze your credit if you decide to apply for a loan or credit account.
Summary
In today’s online landscape, security is a moving target. Even if you do everything right, you could still fall victim to exposure. Currently, using passkeys for all of your accounts (if offered) and freezing your credit are your best protections against identity fraud.
