INDIANAPOLIS — This month, we learned about one of the biggest data breaches in history.
The infamous hacking group USDoD claimed they had broken into the databases of National Public Data, a company provides background check services for companies and investigators across the country. While specific numbers are hard to nail down, one proposed class action lawsuit claims 2.9 billion personal records may have been exposed.
Someone with that information could potentially open a new loan or credit card in your name, hack into your bank account or investment accounts or even use a Google Voice number to make scam calls using your name.
So how do you know if your Social Security number was exposed in the breach? There are a couple websites you can search to see if your information has been leaked.
NPDBreach.com allows you to search with specific information, including your Social Security number or phone number, name and zip code. This is the search that will tell you specifically if your SSN was part of the big recent leak.
NPD.pentester.com lets you search by using your name, home state and birth year. This search gives you a larger view of how much leaked information you might have floating around the dark and deep web.
With so many numbers included in this leak, there’s a decent chance that yours was one of them. If so, security experts highly recommend you freeze your credit.
According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the process only takes about 20 minutes over the phone. It will prevent any hackers or scammers from opening new loans or other lines of credit using your information, and it won’t affect your credit score.
The US PIRG has a step-by-step guide on how to freeze your credit, which you can find here.
