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TECHNOLOGY A23
Saturday 6 June 2015
You’ve been hacked ... do this right now
BY BRANDON BAILEY AVOID ADDITIONAL HACKS
JOSEPH PISANI
AP Business Writers — After a hack, scammers
The entire U.S. federal work-
force may be at risk after may try to use the stolen
yet another intrusion from
what security experts be- data to trick you into giving
lieve were hackers based
in China. The Department up more personal informa-
of Homeland Security says
that data from the Office tion. They can use that info
of Personnel Management
— the human resources to steal money in your ac-
department for the federal
government — and the In- counts or open new credit
terior Department has been
infiltrated. cards.
It is not the first and it follows
massive data breaches at — Don’t click on any links
health insurance compa-
nies, major U.S. banks like from emails. Bad software
JPMorgan and retailers such
as Target and Home Depot. could be downloaded to
Here’s what to do if you
think you’ve been compro- your computer that can
mised.
FIRST THINGS FIRST steal account passwords.
— Notify the credit agen-
cies (Equifax, Experian, Tran- — You might get letters in
sUnion) and request a 90-
day credit alert. (Each re- the mail saying you won a
porting agency is supposed
to notify the others, but you tablet or vacation and give
may want to contact all
three yourself.) The alert tells you a phone number to call.
businesses to contact you
before opening any new Don’t do it. It’s likely a ploy
accounts in your name. You
can renew the alert every to gather more information
90 days, or you’re entitled
to keep it in effect for seven from you.
years if you find that your
identity is stolen and file a — Hang up the phone if you
report with police.
— You might consider ask- get a call asking for account
ing the reporting agen-
cies to place a full freeze A gate leading to the Homeland Security Department headquarters in northwest Washington, numbers or other informa-
on your credit. This blocks Friday, June 5, 2015. China-based hackers are suspected once again of breaking into U.S. tion. Scammers may also
any business from checking government computer networks, and the entire federal workforce could be at risk this time. send texts, so don’t click on
your credit to open a new any links from numbers you
account, so it’s a stronger Associated Press don’t know.
measure than a credit alert. ONE MORE RESOURCE:
BUT you should weigh that BE A DETECTIVE or any other entity that may vacy & identity” tab, which The FTC now has a website
against the hassle of notify- — When your credit card have held your information will walk you through cre- www.identitytheft.gov that
ing credit agencies to lift the bill comes, check closely for when it was hacked. NOTE: ating an affidavit you can provides step-by-step ad-
freeze — which can take a any irregularities. And don’t These services will tell you if show to creditors. vice and more information
few days — every time you overlook small charges. a new account is opened in — Keep copies of all reports on what to do if you think
apply for a loan, open a Crooks are known to charge your name, but they won’t and correspondence. Use you have been the victim of
new account or even sign smaller amounts, usually prevent it, and many don’t certified mail to get delivery a data breach.q
up for utility service. under $10, to see if you no- check for things like bogus receipts, and keep notes on
tice. If you don’t, they may cellphone accounts, fraud- every phone call.
charge larger amounts lat- ulent applications for gov- Yahoo to shut down
er. ernment benefits or claims
— Get a free credit report for medical benefits. Some
once a year from at least do offer limited insurance or
maps and other sectionsone of the major reporting help from a staffer trained
agencies (Equifax, Experian, to work with credit issuers NEW YORK (AP) — Yahoo will close its maps page, and
TransUnion), and review it and reporting agencies. several other sites, as it focuses on its search business,
for unauthorized accounts. SOMEONE DID STEAL MY communication tools and content.
Ignore services that charge IDENTITY, WHAT DO I DO? The Internet company said Friday that it will close its
a fee for credit reports. You — Contact the credit issuer map, which gives users driving directions and traffic
can order them without to dispute fraudulent charg- conditions, at the end of the month.
charge at www.annualcre- es and have the bogus ac- Yahoo will also close several sites worldwide, including
ditreport.com . If you order count closed. Yahoo Music in Canada and France, Yahoo Movies in
from each agency once a — Request your credit re- Spain and Yahoo Autos in the U.K. Yahoo’s main Phil-
year, you could effectively port and ask the reporting ippines page will also close, and users will be sent to
check your history every agencies to remove bogus Yahoo Singapore instead.
four months. accounts or any incorrect The company announced the closings in a blog post.
DO PAID SERVICES WORK? information from your re- A Yahoo representative declined to comment further.
— Some experts say there’s cord. See tip #1 on setting Yahoo Inc. is streamlining its business as it tries to in-
not much to be gained from up a credit alert and/or crease its audience and capture more ad dollars. It
a paid credit monitoring ser- freeze. announced a deal Wednesday to show a live NFL
vice. But it can’t hurt to sign — Submit a report through game, and it has signed other content deals with me-
up for any monitoring of- the FTC website: www.con- dia companies.q
fered for free by a company sumer.ftc.gov. Click the “pri-
