Consumer Advisory Regarding Data Breaches

The news has reported a number of instances in which businesses or governmental agencies have announced the unauthorized release of sensitive personal information, such as credit card account or social security numbers. 

Whether or not you suspect your personal information has been compromised, early detection can make a big difference. Keep an eye out for any suspicious activity by routinely monitoring:

• Your financial statements. Monitor your financial accounts and billing statements regularly, looking closely for charges you did not make.
• Your credit reports. Credit reports contain information about you, including what accounts you have and how you pay your bills. The law requires each of the major nationwide consumer reporting agencies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

To order your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free 877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
 
BEWARE of any emails warning of a security breach. Scammers will use fake warnings to collect personal information.  DO NOT click on any links contained in unsolicited emails.

It is also important to be careful about how you use computers and the internet. Stay away from websites with suspicious addresses, and never provide your password or other sensitive information in an email. In order to protect your online secured-access information, always use a strong password.

Suggestions for Creating a Strong Password:

           »  Use a variation of capitalization, numbers, and symbols of 10 or more characters
           »  Never give out your password or use the same password for multiple accounts
           »  Do not use any word that can be found in the dictionary or that can be easily found
              (i.e. Parents' names, pet names, etc)  

Last modified July 10 2012 10:25 AM