Since most banking operations are now conducted digitally, hackers can steal hundreds of thousands (and sometimes millions) of records at once, leading to data breaches. This can happen not only with banks but also with other financial institutions.
Knowing What Was Stolen
The first step is to find out what was stolen. In any breach, different pieces of information can be stolen. One of the most dangerous pieces of information that can be stolen in the United States is a person’s social security number. This, along with a full name, allows almost anyone to impersonate you and purchase items or commit fraud on your behalf. If your social security number has been stolen, make sure to report it to the police.
Resetting Passwords
Next, you’ll want to reset your passwords to strong new ones. Even if only one account has been compromised, it’s a good idea to create new passwords for each of your accounts – especially if you’ve used the same password for multiple accounts. Be sure to change the password for each account and make them different.
Contacting Credit Bureaus
It is crucial to contact the credit bureaus that issue credit reports. In the United States, you can get any of the major credit bureaus (or all of them) to place fraud alerts on your name, and this is free of charge. Then, if someone tries to steal your financial identity, you’ll know immediately. In the United States, you can contact credit bureaus using the following numbers:
- Equifax 1-800-685-1111
- Experian 1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion 1-888-909-8872
Signing Up for Credit Monitoring Service
Banks and other financial institutions are continually working to ensure they have the latest cybersecurity technologies, and new technologies such as two-factor authentication help increase security. But hackers can still carry out breaches.
It is important to take initiative to protect yourself. You can take a proactive approach by signing up for a credit monitoring service. Many financial services companies offer credit monitoring services to their customers. Check if your company offers this service and how much it costs. You can also sign up for free credit monitoring services through companies like Credit Karma.
5 Examples of Major Data Breaches
Equifax: As a credit reporting agency, Equifax stores personal information about anyone who has taken out a loan of any kind. In 2017, Equifax suffered a breach involving 145.5 million accounts in the United States and 12.3 million accounts in the UK. The personal information of 8,000 Canadians was also affected. Hackers managed to obtain identifying information such as names, dates of birth, phone numbers, social security numbers, and email addresses. The hackers also stole credit card numbers of more than 209,000 people in the United States and 11,670 in Canada.
Heartland Payment Systems: This payment processing company is responsible for processing millions of transactions daily and serves over 400,000 different business locations in the United States. In 2008, over 130 million people’s data was compromised as their payments were processed by Heartland. This breach cost the company around $147.6 million to fix.
TRW Information Systems: In 1984, the credit histories of 90 million people were published on an electronic billboard accessible to others. It is one of the first instances of a mass data breach in a financial institution.
JPMorgan
Chase: This giant bank reported a massive data breach affecting more than 76 million households and 7 million small businesses in 2014. This was the first major successful attack on a large bank based in the United States, shattering the belief that banks were safe from data breaches.
Cardsystems Solutions: This payment processor was hacked in 2005, exposing 40 million credit card numbers. At that time, the company had around 100,000 small businesses in its network and was processing a whopping $15 billion a day in credit card transactions.
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Sources:
Federal Trade Commission. “What to do right away.”
Equifax. “Frequently Asked Questions.”
Equifax. “Information Security Incident – Information for UK Consumers.”
Equifax. “Information Security Incident and Important Information for Consumers.”
Equifax. “Data Breach Notice.”
Heartland Payment Systems. “Your Business Without Limits.”
U.S. Department of Justice. “Suspect Charged in Alleged International Hacking Scheme in Massive Attack on U.S. Retailers and Banks.”
Securities and Exchange Commission. “Heartland Payment Systems Inc. 2012 Form 10-K.”
Marianne K. Reddy. “Yes, Your Personal Data is at Risk: Get Over It.”
Securities and Exchange Commission. “JPMorgan Chase & Co. Form 8-K, October 2, 2014.”
U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. “Statement of Congressman Michael N. Castle. Congressional Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Hearing on ‘Credit Card Data Processing: How Secure Is It?’”.
Federal Trade Commission. “CardSystems Solutions Settlement of FTC Complaints.”
Source: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/dealing-with-cyber-security-bank-account-data-breaches-4582902
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