My name is Tiffani Sherman.
The real Tiffani Sherman.
For the second time in two years, Im dealing with the fallout of identity theft.
Sherman doesn’t know how scammers got her data. Recommended ways to protect yourself from identity theft include setting up alerts, checking your monthly billing statements and using digital wallets. Chris Zuppa/The Penny Hoarder
Trust me, it isnt fun.
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Im not alone, which doesnt make me feel all that much better.
According to the report, instances of fraud are falling but the damage they are doing is increasing.
Thieves are shifting from fraudulent credit card changes to account takeovers.
This kind of thing yields more, is more complex to prevent, and takes longer to fix.
Most of the damage happens within a short period of time.
The Javelin research says 40% of the activity usually happens within a day.
They have a small working window of time to really do that total takeover.
How Did Scammers Get My Data?
Almost everyone who heard about my ID theft problems asked me how people got my data.
I honestly dont know.
The first is when we accidentally give out our data.
Some of them can sound pretty ominous, so its easy to fall for them.
Also, think about how many places ask for information like your Social Security number and date of birth.
I said, no, Im sorry.
you could have my cell phone number if you need an identifier.
If you need a Social, were done here.
Youre a grocery store, not exactly a high level security operation.
The person folded, put in my cell, and off I went with my rewards card.
The other way scammers get your data is through hackers.
I think were going to have a massive amount of major data breaches.
Then the information becomes like pieces of a puzzle.
Its like a patchwork quilt, Buzzard said.
You pop somebodys information in and you play around with it.
Freeze Your Credit
Both Weisman and Buzzard said the most important thing to do isfreeze your credit.
Doing this should stop anyone from opening credit accounts using your information.
This becomes important when a scammer tries to use your personal information to open a fraudulent account.
The freeze will automatically stop the account from being opened.
Just remember to freeze it again.
Thats how the scammers were able to do so much damage this go-around.
I think it should be easier to freeze your credit and protect yourself from identity theft.
Freezing your credit makes you less valuable to the credit reporting agencies.
Since Equifax had a huge breach a few years ago, freezing and unfreezing credit is free.
Everyones credit is separate, so a couple needs to each freeze their credit individually.
Freezing one does not freeze the others.
Also, parents can freeze the credit of their minor children.
Even with your credit frozen,check each bureaus credit reportsperiodically to check that nothing has gotten through.
Also, check to confirm everything is still frozen.
Trust me, that has changed.
During these breaches, fraudsters hacked into databases and got the info.
Then they sold that information on the dark web or in other ways.
I looked and lots of my information is unfortunately part of these combolists.
If you forget a password, you could usually reset it by answering some security questions.
As for those password vaults, security experts are mixed about them.
Other people say they are a good way to see to it you have strong passwords for everything.
Seeing those types of things now makes me cringe.
Many people are making it way too easy for scammers.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Enabling two-factor authentication is also important.
Data breaches will happen, Weisman said.
Just verify you protect your phone also by enabling its security features.
Secure Devices
We live for our devices.
Theyre our constant companion and contain our whole lives.
Weisman suggests taking one more step to secure your phone which is locking your number.
This way, a scammer cant transfer your phone number to another carrier.
Locking my number was easy to do from my providers app.
Weisman is not a huge fan because they dont usually protect you.
They just alert you sooner.
Thats what the identity theft protection services are doing.
Theyre telling you sooner that youve been victimized.
They dont do anything to protect you from becoming a victim.
The best we can do is attempt to control what the scammers can do once they get it.
My friends keep asking me if I stopped everything.
Sadly, I cannot answer that question.
Its a helpless feeling.
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