Anyone with a smartphone would be wise to take them: Meanwhile, T-Mobile has set up a website suggesting more steps people can take to guard against fraud. They provide tools to prevent you from phishing and other forms of hacking combined with scanning services that look for your Social Security number or email address in places online where it doesn't belong. You should also check your credit score regularly, which is a good way to detect fraud after it happens.Ĭredit- and identity-monitoring services, which typically carry a monthly fee, can also help reveal the work of identity thieves. Krebs also suggests freezing the credit files maintained by a handful of smaller, specialized agencies. But you have to contact each of the three major credit bureaus individually, which you can do online. It's free to place a freeze and to lift it for your own needs. The single best thing to do is to put a freeze on your credit files, which will prevent anyone from opening a new account. ![]() But that convenience can backfire if your number is hijacked, then used to impersonate you online. It's increasingly common for people to use their mobile numbers as a way to verify their identity - for example, when they log into their online banking account, or when they want to reset their password. That's where someone persuades your mobile phone company to transfer your number to a different device, which he or she then uses to try to break into the accounts that you've tied to your phone number. ![]() Or they could use it to dupe your bank into letting them change the password on your account, giving them access to your money.įor those whose phone numbers were also exposed, there's at least one more malign possibility: a SIM-swap attack. For example, they could use it to make phishing emails seem more realistic, helping to persuade you to give up additional sensitive information such as a password or PIN. Identity thieves could use that information to target both you and the banks, insurers and other companies you do business with. ![]() Throw in your name, birth date and driver's license number, and it's exponentially easier for someone to pretend to be you. Your stolen SSN can be used to open fraudulent credit card accounts, divert or fraudulently collect benefits and commit workplace fraud, among other forms of deceit. Social Security numbers are widely used by the federal government, banks, investment companies, government benefit programs and insurers to verify identity. Those whose data were exposed face greater risks of identity theft, phishing scams and other forms of fraud, Krebs warned. But that doesn't mean you should just shrug off what happened. There have been so many data breaches at so many companies over the years, some security experts say that much of the information exposed by T-Mobile is probably already available on the dark web.
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