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Attorney General Schneiderman warns St. Lawrence County residents to protect sensitive personal information from hackers

Posted 9/9/14

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is warning St. Lawrence County residents to prevent hackers from obtaining sensitive personal information online. The warning comes after a major online …

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Attorney General Schneiderman warns St. Lawrence County residents to protect sensitive personal information from hackers

Posted

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is warning St. Lawrence County residents to prevent hackers from obtaining sensitive personal information online.

The warning comes after a major online security breach.

Hackers stole over 1 billion unique user names and passwords and half a billion e-mail addresses earlier this summer, according to a prepared statement from Attorney General Schneiderman.

“As more of our personal data is being exchanged and stored online, the risks posed to consumers by major security breaches has become all the more critical,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “As law enforcement pursues those who are responsible for these breaches, it is important that consumers remain vigilant. Taking a few key precautions can help keep you a step ahead of cybercriminals.”

This latest breach, possibly the largest ever of its kind, targeted websites of both large and small companies as well as individuals. It is believed that individuals suspected of being responsible for such breaches sell stolen data to third parties on the black market and use the information to send spam advertisements to consumers, the release said.

If you believe that you are a victim of this or any other security breach, follow these tips:

Create an identity theft fraud report. To do this, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and print an Identity Theft Affidavit. Call the FTC at 1-877-438-4338. Use that affidavit to file a police report and create your Identity Theft Report.

An Identity Theft Report will help deal with credit reporting companies, debt collectors and any fraudulent accounts that the identity thief opened.

Put a freeze on your credit report by notifying each of the credit reporting agencies: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. This will block someone from obtaining credit using your name or personal information. You won’t be able to apply for any new credit cards or loans while the freeze is in effect, but you can continue to use your existing cards. To freeze your credit file, you must notify each of the three major credit bureaus. There is no fee if you have been the victim of identity theft. The freeze can be removed only by you.

Get a copy of your credit report from each of the three agencies. You are entitled to free reports once you post a fraud alert (see below) or put a freeze on your account. Read the reports carefully to see whether other fraudulent transactions or accounts are listed, and then take steps to correct those errors.

Check credit card accounts frequently to look for any irregular activity.

Change any user names and passwords. For user names and passwords, change them immediately on the relevant account and monitor the account for unusual activity. If you use the same user name or password on other accounts, change those as well.

The contact information for the credit reporting agencies: Equifax at 1-800-525-6285, Experian at 1-888-397-3742 and TransUnion at 1-800-680-7289.

The Attorney General’s Office also suggests to guard against future threats in the following ways:

Create strong passwords for online accounts and update them frequently. Use different passwords for different accounts, especially for websites where you have disseminated sensitive information, such as credit card or Social Security numbers.

Carefully monitor credit card and debit card statements each month. If you find any abnormal transactions, contact your bank or credit card agency immediately.

Do not write down or store passwords electronically. If you do, be extremely careful of where you store passwords. Be aware that any passwords stored electronically, such as in a word processing document or cell phone’s notepad, can be easily stolen and provide fraudsters with one-stop shopping for all your sensitive information. If you hand-write passwords, do not store them in plain sight.

Do not post any sensitive information on social media. Information such as birthdays, addresses, and phone numbers can be used by fraudsters to authenticate account information.

Also, stay up to date on media reports of data security breaches and consumer advisories.