I found that my ssn was leaked because I got multiple attempts to take put credit loans. Incidentally, my middle initial is not I, but l. Joke’s on them. Every time I see the incorrect middle initial, it’s an easy way to tell.
Needless to say, my stuff has been locked for years and only unlocked when I need to take out a loan or open a new account which is extremely rare.
Technically, they’re hosting a file that contains a link to one or more servers that might have a list of people who claim to have that content, and a series of hashes to verify that they’re not bluffing.
I mean, let’s be real – 50% of the USA’s SSN is on a dark web site due to the Equifax breach.
Freeze your credit, it’s the only way to protect yourself. All of the ID protection services are just overpriced insurance and don’t actually prevent ID theft.
Yes. Just FYI: All three have free “freeze” option, hidden somewhere (probably thanks to federal law). They also have very similar paid option, which they heavily advertise; That’s not the one. They do all require free accounts, but probably worth it to be able to freeze/unfreeze instantly online.
I just received “dark web” alert about SSN, phone, name, and email… that I only used at AT&T many years ago. So AT&T has definitely leaked our data as well. Add 'em to the list…
It’s not great but it’s not really world ending. About a year ago someone filed for unemployment in bot my wife’s name and my name. Which came as a shock to my employer as I was was still happily at work. I work for a small mom-n-pop store, my wife works at a mega corporation. She caries insurance etc and one of her companies providers had a leak of ssn and other personal information. We both locked our credit and signed up for a protection pin for filing taxes. We reported to the local unemployment office that they were fraudulent claims. I look back and realized we probably should have locked our credit long ago and got tax pins as well, just for the security side of things.
The funny thing is my employer brought it to my attention. My wife’s employer didn’t even notice and was getting ready to pay the claim even tho she was still working there as the system is all automated in her company. Eventually it came out about the leak and they are providing 5 years of credit monitoring for free.
Eh, it’s probably been on the dark web for a while now given how frequent and massive data leaks have become. Worry more about unauthorized use/access to your credit and/or identity.
Place freezes on your credit for Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax (it’s free)
Lock any credit cards you don’t use regularly
Pull your credit reports from each agency (you get one a year for free) and verify activity
Enable balance notifications for your credit cards and bank accounts (eg, high transaction amount = $0.00 will alert you to every purchase made)
Don’t use the same password for multiple websites. If you don’t already, use a password manager like KeePass and let it generate new passwords for you
It’s all about the diligence these days. Your morning should be fine. The worst thing you can receive is a high transaction amount alert you didn’t authorize. But card companies and banks have gotten good about dealing with those when they happen.
The link you shared says only in specific circumstances can someone opt out of LexusNexus:
Opting out of LexisNexis can be more complex than removing your data from other people-search sites. To have your information taken down, you must meet specific criteria, and LexisNexis may request additional documentation:
Victim of identity theft: you need to provide a police report documenting the identity theft or similar documentation.
Law enforcement officers or public officials facing threats of severe bodily harm or death:** **you must submit a letter from their supervisor confirming the nature of their position and the threats.
At risk of physical harm but not in law enforcement: you’ll need to submit a protective order from the court, a police report, or similar documentation.
I believe that the wording is awkward in that you will need additional information if you’re one of the three listed criteria. If you’re just removing it from public view, you only need to provide your name, address, phone and social security number.
Yep, I’m in the unlucky half. It’s good practice anyway, but now I keep my credit frozen at all three credit bureaus unless I’m submitting an application. Doesn’t stop all fraud, but stops most of the kind that can fuck up my credit.
Fuck, I’ve never even heard of those. This whole system is garbage, how am I supposed to know how to protect myself from fraud when these companies just somehow automatically have authority to let thieves steal my identity? At the very least we should have a centralized government agency that you can issue a blanket freeze with. Better would be an actual proper ID system.
Those fuckers got away so nicely for having such shitty security practices. They have the nerve to ask me to sign up for a paid subscription every time I log in to check my score with them.
Motherfucker, I don’t even want to use your services for free. I’m required to as long as I have to play the credit game and it’s honestly really unfair you get to stay in business and barely got a slap on the wrist for all the shit you caused for millions of people.
I would be surprised if anyone’s SSN isn’t on a dark web site. Being combined with other personal data is a problem, although the biggest problem is that credit companies treat easily found information as secret and let criminals easily impersonate people by knowing those few easily shared pieces of information without some kind of real security or easy way for people to contest fraud.
Eh, pretty much all of my info has been part of one breach or another and nothing has happened. I keep locks with all the credit bureaus and monitor my report regularly, which I think everyone should do, but there’s not much else you even can do about it unfortunately.
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