2.5 million Californians Exposed: What you can do to prevent identity theft

2.5 million Californians Exposed: What you can do to prevent identity theft -

A report released Monday by the State Attorney General Kamala Harris found that 2.5 million Californians had their social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank accounts and other personal information described below 131 violations of corporate data, universities and government agencies. Some companies and organizations violated include Petco Animal Supplies, State Farm Insurance, Kaiser Permanente, Pepperdine University, Stanford University Hospital, Bank of America Merchant Services, American Express Travel Related Services and its affiliates, among others.

The report of the Attorney General, the offenses date back to November 2010, and more than half of those whose information was exposed - 1.4 million - could have been avoided if the data is encrypted. About 45 percent of the offenses were the results of the security measures failed by information managers, and users or hackers outside 55 percent involved. The report also revealed that 56 percent of pirated Californians had their social security number exposed.

If you fear your personal information may be at risk there are some steps you can take to help detect identity theft before it's too late. One of the key steps you can take include monitoring your credit reports because it can help you catch the opening of fraudulent credit cards or accounts. Another option on more labor is to register for a protection service against identity theft. These services monitor your credit reports and alert you if an account has been opened and scanned the Internet black market for personal information, such as your credit number and social security cards or bank accounts. This blog explains why these services can be helpful.

If you think you have been victim of identity theft , you must follow the steps below to restore your identity and good name.

1. Report the theft to the local police and FTC: Filing a police report contributes to the local police about the crime and to help police find a possible source of crime. In addition to filing a police report, you must also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission. The agency uses the information you provide to search all the trends with identity theft, which can help to conduct investigations and future prosecutions.
2. Notify all the reports of the three credit bureaus: Alert the credit bureaus that makes them aware of the flight and lets them know to take additional steps to verify your identity. There are two routes you can take to protect your credit. You can choose to place a fraud alert or credit freeze on their credit reports. A fraud alert allows businesses to access your credit reports, but it also puts a warning that advises creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity. A fraud alert is the most extreme option of the two because it completely blocks your credit. This means that no credit, including your current creditors, will have access to your credit reports. You get to decide which option is the best choice for you. The numbers for each office can be found here.
3. inform banks and creditors: The last step, you will need to do is notify your banks and creditors, meaning any business that your personal information - such as utilities, cable providers and the Internet, libraries, insurance companies. Although you have already filed a police report and notified the credit bureaus, you still need to perform this step because it makes your banks and creditors aware that you are vulnerable because the reality is that once you have been victim of identity theft, you are more likely to become a victim of identity theft in the future.
4. Follow up with everything: This is an essential step because you want to make sure that everything is finished, and monitoring will help ensure that all the necessary measures to restore your identity actually taken.

Visit our Identity Theft FAQ to learn more about identity protection against theft in general or visit our Identity Theft compare chart to see what protection against identity theft service can meet your needs.