In 2023, over 353 million Americans were affected by data breaches^[1]. When cybercriminals gain access to personal information, they might use it for identity theft, financial fraud, and other types of cybercrime. However, identifying whether your data has been exposed in a data incident allows you to react quickly and minimize the risk of data misuse.

If you’re wondering, “How to check if my personal information has been compromised,” this guide will show you the tell-tale signs of data theft, the common ways personal information is stolen, and the steps you can take to secure your information. It will also explore another method to protect your financial information when making payments online.

How Can Your Personal Information Be Stolen?

Cybercriminals can access vast amounts of sensitive data by targeting companies that store it. Some of the ways that hackers gain access to this data include software vulnerabilities, human error such as poor access control, or advanced persistent threats (APT). Once they breach a company’s servers, databases, or networks, hackers can extract valuable personal data such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and login credentials.

Hackers might also target you directly to try to steal your data. Methods they may use include:

• Phishing scams—Cybercriminals might try to trick you into sharing sensitive personal data through fake emails, texts, or phone calls. 
• Malware—Malicious software such as keyloggers, ransomware, worms, viruses, and spyware can infiltrate your computer or network and steal sensitive data.
• Brute force attacks—Hackers might use automated software to try different combinations of usernames and passwords to gain access to your accounts.
• Physical theft—Criminals may steal devices such as laptops, smartphones, or hard drives and use them to gain unauthorized access to your data.

How To Check Whether Your Personal Data Has Been Breached

When a company you've shared personal information with suffers a data breach, it should notify you about it as per state laws^[2]. However, not all companies fulfill this responsibility quickly enough. Some fail to notify affected individuals due to delays in identifying the breach, while others may avoid disclosure to protect their reputations. These delays can leave you vulnerable to identity theft and other risks.

You can also determine whether your personal information has been exposed by:

1. Checking data breach sites
2. Reviewing your credit report
3. Monitoring your financial accounts

Checking Data Breach Sites

Websites such as Have I Been Pwned^[3] allow you to check if your personal information was compromised during a data breach. These sites collect data from publicly reported breaches and allow you to search by email address. Meanwhile, services like password managers, including 1Password and Bitdefender, often offer features that alert you if your information might have appeared in a breach.

Similarly, the Identity Theft Resource Center^[4] and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse^[5] list reported data breaches and the type of information exposed. While they might not help you determine whether you were affected, they can alert you to check for suspicious activity on your accounts.

Reviewing Your Credit Report

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you’re entitled to a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) every 12 months^[6]. There are three ways you can obtain your credit report:

1. Visit annualcreditreport.com
2. Call 1-877-322-8228
3. Fill out the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
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Your credit report should help you spot any unauthorized accounts or inquiries that could indicate fraudulent activity. You can also sign up for a credit monitoring service to receive alerts of any changes or suspicious activity on your credit report.

Monitoring Your Financial Accounts

You should check your bank and credit card statements for unusual withdrawals, unauthorized charges, and new accounts you didn't open. Criminals might use stolen personal information to open credit accounts, take out loans, or make purchases in your name.

What To Do if Your Personal Information Has Been Compromised

To minimize the damage and prevent further misuse of your personal information, it’s crucial to act quickly if you suspect your personal information might be compromised. Here are some of the steps you can take:

• Secure your accounts—Consider changing your passwords, enabling two-factor authentication whenever possible, and setting up account activity alerts on any compromised accounts. You can use a password manager such as Keeper, Dashlane, or RoboForm to generate and store credentials in an encrypted password vault.
• Place a fraud alert—Contact one of the three major credit bureaus and request a fraud alert be placed on your credit report to prevent further identity theft. The alert will remain active for a year, requiring creditors to verify your identity before granting credit in your name. You can also request a credit freeze to restrict access to your credit report.
• Contact your financial institutions—You should inform your bank, payment card company, or insurance provider to flag your accounts for suspicious activity and monitor for unauthorized charges.
• Get recovery resources—If the data compromise resulted in identity theft, consider reporting it to FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov service^[7]. It will provide you with a recovery plan.
• Stay vigilant—It’s also important to continuously monitor your financial accounts and credit reports and be cautious of suspicious emails or calls asking for personal information. You should always verify the legitimacy of any request before sharing sensitive data.

How To Protect Your Data From Breaches

In addition to monitoring for potential data breaches, there are other steps you can take to protect your data against theft. For instance, a virtual private network (VPN) such as NordVPN, Surfshark, or Proton VPN can help mask your IP address and encrypt your internet traffic, making it harder for hackers to intercept and steal your data.

You can also enable "do not track" settings on your apps and browsers, regularly update your devices' operating systems to patch security vulnerabilities, and seek help from data removal services to remove your personal information from data brokers and people search engines.

To protect your financial information against potential exposure during merchant data breaches, consider using a virtual card for your online payments. 

A virtual card is a unique 16-digit card number that substitutes your actual card numbers during online transactions. While popular card issuers and banks like American Express^® and Capital One^® offer them, independent providers like Privacy provide advanced security and card controls.

How Privacy Cards Protect Your Financial Information

After connecting a bank account or debit card to Privacy, you can generate multiple virtual cards and use them like you would your regular card. In case of a merchant data breach, the hacker could only get your virtual card details, keeping your real financial information safe.

As a PCI-DSS-compliant provider, Privacy uses stringent security measures to protect your data and account, including:

• Two-factor authentication (2FA)—Privacy supports 2FA via email, SMS, and authenticator apps to help strengthen account security.
• Robust encryption—Privacy encrypts sensitive data using military-grade AES-256 encryption to protect it in transfer and storage. 
• Regular audits—Privacy undergoes regular third-party audits to help ensure its security remains in compliance with high industry standards.

Privacy Virtual Cards—Types and Features

Privacy offers three types of virtual cards, each designed to boost security and enhance your online shopping experience:

Privacy Virtual Cards allow you to set spending limits, and Privacy will automatically decline any transactions that exceed the set amount. This can help protect your bank account from surprise charges such as hidden fees or announced price hikes.

Privacy also lets you pause or close your virtual card at any time, and all future attempts to charge the card will be blocked. This feature helps you avoid accidental charges that might occur when canceling your subscriptions, for example. 

Additional Convenience Features Privacy Offers

Beyond security, Privacy also makes your online shopping experience more convenient with the following features:

• Mobile app—The Privacy App is compatible with iOS and Android, and it allows you to generate new cards, set spending limits, and monitor transactions directly from your mobile device, wherever you are.
• Browser extension—The Privacy Browser Extension is compatible with major browsers, including Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Safari for iOS. It enables quick and secure autofill of card details during checkout, making transactions faster and seamless. 
• Integration with 1Password—You can use 1Password to store and autofill card details at checkout, helping protect you from keyloggers and shoulder surfers. The integration allows you to easily store and manage both your passwords and virtual cards from one convenient platform
• Shared Cards—With Privacy, you can share card details with trusted friends and family. This feature allows you to share your budget without disclosing your actual card details.
• Card Notes—Privacy lets you attach custom notes to your cards, helping you keep track of transactions or provide additional information about the merchant. 

How To Get Started With Privacy 

Getting started with Privacy is easy:

1. Sign up for a Privacy account
2. Add the required information to verify your identity
3. Connect a funding source, which can be your bank account or debit card
4. Request your first Privacy Card‍
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To suit different user needs, Privacy offers four plans:

Privacy Virtual Cards are accepted at most stores that process U.S. Visa^® and Mastercard^® payments, including popular websites like Hulu, HelloFresh, and AMC Plus.

References

^[1]Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/273550/data-breaches-recorded-in-the-united-states-by-number-of-breaches-and-records-exposed/, sourced October 10, 2024

^[2]FTC. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/data-breach-response-guide-business, sourced October 10, 2024

^[3]Have I Been Pwnd, https://haveibeenpwned.com/, sourced October 10, 2024

^[4]ITRC. https://www.idtheftcenter.org/notified/, sourced October 10, 2024

^[5]PrivacyRights.org. https://www.privacyrights.org/data-breaches, sourced October 10, 2024

^[6]FTC. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/free-credit-reports, sourced October 10, 2024

^[7]FTC. https://www.identitytheft.gov/, sourced October 10, 2024

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