Scam of the day – May 20, 2023 – Debt Collection Agency Data Breach

by | May 19, 2023 | Scam of the day

If it seems like I was just telling you about another major data breach a few days ago, you are correct.  It was only three days ago that I wrote about another data breach.  https://scamicide.com/2023/05/16/scam-of-the-day-may-17-2023-another-major-health-care-data-breach/

Today’s data breach involves Credit Control Corporation which is a debt collection agency specializing in debt collection on behalf of a number of hospitals and physicians.  They have just announced that they suffered a data breach in March in which sensitive personal information of 286,699 people was stolen.  This information included names, addresses and, most importantly, Social Security numbers.  This information can be readily used to make the victims of the data breach also victims of identity theft.

As I have reminded you many times, we are only as safe and secure as the security of the companies, government agencies and websites that have our personal information.  Even if you are extremely diligent in protecting your personal information, you can be in danger of identity theft and scams if your personal information falls into the hands of hackers.

So what can you do to protect yourself from these data breaches that will be occurring?

TIPS

One important lesson is to limit the amount of personal information that you provide to companies and websites whenever possible.  For example, your doctor or hospital doesn’t need your Social Security number for its records.  This is particularly significant because health care providers are the biggest targets for data breaches.

You should make sure that you have a unique password for each of your online accounts so that if one of your passwords is compromised in a data breach, all of your accounts will not be in danger.  If your information is compromised in a data breach, you should immediately change the password for that account.

If you have not already done so, set up dual factor authentication for each of you accounts where it is available. This will protect you from having those accounts stolen by someone who may have access to your password.

Freezing your credit is also something everyone should do.  It is free and easy to do.  In addition, it protects you from someone using your identity to obtain loans or make large purchases even if they have your Social Security number.  If you have not already done so, put a credit freeze on your credit reports at all of the major credit reporting agencies.  Here are links to each of them with instructions about how to get a credit freeze:
And if you really want to scare yourself, check out Haveibeenpwned which is a website that allows you to enter your email address and it will tell you what data breaches you have been involved with. https://haveibeenpwned.com/

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