Most of you should have seen the news of the recent social security data breach. Over 2.7 billion Social Security numbers were found to be leaked from a background check company known as National Public Data. Whether you are aware of this company or the data breach, you need to be wary of the potential threat to your Social Security number and identity.

The information released was not only Social Security numbers, but also names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers. With all this private information becoming compromised, your credit and finances are at stake. Follow the tips below to protect yourself and your financial future.

1. Freeze your credit lines. The based way to protect against others using your information to take out new credit cards or loans is to freeze your credit lines on the three main credit websites: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. It is free and is applied instantly. You can also unfreeze it at your own discretion when you need to apply for new credit cards or loans.
2. Change your passwords. Update any passwords for your financial and secure accounts, as well as any accounts that reuse the same password. You should also set-up two-factor authentication when it is available to help keep your accounts as secure as possible.
3. Check to see if your Social Security number has been affected. There are a couple databases you can check to see if your information has been compromised. There is no guarantee that if you don’t appear in the results that you won’t be affected by the data breach in the future, but it is good to know where you stand at the present time.
   1. NPDBreach.com
   2. NPD.pentester.com
4. Create an account with My Social Security. This is a free service provided by the government that has personalized tools and benefits to protect you and your Social Security number. You can check application statuses, manage benefits, and receive alerts concerning your information. Find out more and sign up here.
5. Purchase additional protection. There are several additional sites with identity theft monitoring tools that track your personal and private information with options to pay to have it removed from other public databases, as well as notifying you when your information has appeared on the dark web. This is purely optional but might be encouraged for those at high risk or those whose information has already been compromised.
6. Report fraud. If you are notified or discover someone has stolen your identity or attempted to open a loan with your Social Security number, you should submit an online report at oig.ssa.gov or call their hotline, 1-800-269-0271.

Please be sure to encourage your friends and family to take these steps to safeguard their finances and identity. For more information on how to protect yourself, read The Social Security Administration’s most recent blog.