Breaches Are Forever: Welcome To The New Normal

The Equifax breach should be a huge, screaming wake-up call for Americans.

Judging by reports of overwhelmed call centers, crashing websites and repeated service delays, a huge number of Americans heard that call, loud and clear. More than 11 million people had reportedly signed up for Equifax’s credit monitoring service by Tuesday, and surely millions more had gone online to check their credit reports and scores, implement fraud alerts or even freeze their credit altogether since word of the breach came down on September 7.

That’s great news. It’s heartening that so many people appear to have sprung into action, spurred by the incident which exposed more than 140 million Americans’ personal information. If the breach spurs millions of Americans to be more vigilant in watching out for fraud, it will be a small silver lining in the otherwise-pitch-black cloud that this incident is.

But here’s the thing that most Americans don’t quite grasp yet: Their diligence needs to last forever.

Forever?

Forever ever?

Yes, Ms. Jackson, forever ever. People need to understand that once your personal information is out there, it never goes away. Because of that, the threat to your identity and your finances never goes away either.

That’s so important to remember because bad guys can be incredibly patient with your information. Think of it this way: When a house in your neighborhood gets broken into, everyone becomes hyper-vigilant. Floodlights get installed. Door locks get changed. Neighbors watch out for each other and report even the smallest thing, if it seems out of place. Then, a few weeks later, when no more break-ins have occurred, things return to normal. In that scenario, all the bad guys have to do is wait.

Something similar happens with giant data breaches. Everyone gets fired up for a while before everything eventually returns to normal. That’s when bad guys can strike.

So how do you keep vigilant long after this breach is no longer making major headlines? Here are a few tips:

Create a routine

Schedule some time each week to devote to checking your online bank statements and credit card statements for any suspicious activity. Check up on your credit report, too. You can do that through AnnualCreditReport.com – where you can download a free credit report from all three bureaus every 12 months -- or through free tools like CreditCards.com’s Score and Report app, which gives you constant access to your free TransUnion credit report.

We think nothing of checking Facebook and Instagram 10 times a day but can’t seem to make time to check our bank statements once a week. The truth, however, is that you’ve got time. Make it a priority. Set reminders on your calendar. It doesn’t take long to be diligent, and it’s not hard but it is incredibly important.

Watch what you say in social media

The information stolen from Equifax is a bad guy’s dream. It includes most everything someone would need to convince someone that they are you. That puts all of us in a very precarious situation, which we often make worse by oversharing on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Think of those security questions that you must answer to verify your identity. What’s your birthdate? In what town were you born? What’s your mother’s maiden name? What was your high school’s mascot? The answers to those questions about millions of Americans can be found quickly just by searching their online profiles.

These fraudsters are smart, and they already have countless tools at their disposal, thanks to data breaches and other incidents. Don’t make their job even easier by sharing too much online.

Don’t get overwhelmed

Forever is a daunting concept, and the prospect of having to keep your guard up indefinitely can be intimidating. It can even stop people from taking any action at all. That would be a huge mistake.

Instead of trying to come up with a “forever plan,” break things down into small pieces. For example:

1. Check your current status: Plan to check your credit report and online bank and credit card statements to see if anything is wrong. That helps you get the current lay of the land, shows you whether you need to take any immediate action or if you can start looking ahead.
2. Think about your current credit needs: Are you planning to apply for a mortgage or car loan soon? Will you apply for a new credit card soon? Answering those questions can help you determine whether a credit freeze – which stops everyone, including you, from accessing your credit report – is right for you.
3. Think about how much work you want to put in: Most of the things that credit monitoring services do can be done by the average American with a little bit of time and effort. However, we’ve all got to-do lists that are a mile long, so we may simply want to pay someone to do those things instead.
4. Talk to your friends and family: Loose lips sink ships, as the saying goes. We might be careful about protecting our information, but those we love may not be. Talk to them – especially elderly folks, who are frequently targets of bad guys taking advantage of an already bad situation.

Those are just a few items, but if you take some time to think through them and any other questions that might arise, it can help make this “new normal” a little less daunting.

The bottom line

In the wake of the data breach, it’s OK to be a little shell-shocked. It’s scary to think that your information might be out there and accessible to bad guys looking for a quick buck. However, the best reaction to all this craziness is diligence. There's no need to panic, and it's OK to take it slowly, but don't bury your head in the sand. Keep your eyes open, report anything that might look amiss and above all, remember that fraud protection is marathon not a sprint. 

Matt Schulz is Senior Industry Analyst at CreditCards.com. Follow him on Twitter at @matthewschulz and on Instagram at @matt.schulz.

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