“How to Safeguard Your Credit Card Post Data Breach”

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Protecting Your Credit Card After a Data Breach

At O1ne Mortgage, we prioritize your financial security and education. Learning that your credit card was part of a data breach can be alarming. A data breach exposes your personal information to unauthorized individuals, and it may not be discovered immediately. However, there are steps you can take to mitigate potential damage.

What to Do With Your Credit Card After a Data Breach

A data breach affecting your account doesn’t necessarily mean your data is being used by criminals, but the risk exists. Once informed of a breach, it’s crucial to take measures to protect your data. Here are some steps you can take:

1. Request New Credit Cards

If your credit card number was exposed, contact your credit card issuer to request new cards. The process is similar to reporting a lost card. Your account, credit history, and limits remain the same, but the number will change. Many issuers expedite shipment upon request. Remember to update any recurring charges or autopayments with your new card number.

2. Change Your Passwords

Changing your password can prevent unauthorized access to your account. Create a strong, unique password and avoid reusing passwords from other accounts. A password manager can help you keep track. Additionally, enable multifactor authentication for added security.

3. Monitor Transactions on Your Online Account

Regularly monitoring your account transactions is essential, especially after a breach. Consider setting up alerts to notify you whenever your credit card number is used.

Additional Steps to Take After a Data Breach

If you want to further secure your information, consider these additional steps:

Add a Fraud Alert to Your Credit File

You can add a fraud alert by notifying one of the three major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax). The other two will be automatically notified. Fraud alerts last for one year and are renewable. They ask potential new creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity.

Freeze Your Credit

Freezing your credit limits creditors’ access to your credit report. When a freeze is in place, your credit cannot be checked for new accounts. If you apply for credit, you’ll need to lift the freeze temporarily. While a credit freeze offers strong protection, it can be cumbersome as you must freeze and thaw your credit at each bureau individually. In many cases, a fraud alert may be more convenient.

How to Protect Your Credit Card Information

While you can’t prevent a data breach, you can adopt daily habits to protect your credit card information:

• Don’t give out your credit card number unnecessarily.
• Ensure authorized users practice good security habits.
• Avoid saving your account password online.
• Don’t keep a photo of your card on your phone (a digital wallet is fine).
• Avoid using public Wi-Fi when making online purchases.
• Consider using a digital wallet for transactions.

The Bottom Line

Being notified of a data breach can be unsettling. Your best response is to control the damage by making your information as useless as possible to unauthorized users. Changing credit card numbers and passwords, and closely monitoring your statements can help. Setting up alerts for card usage is also beneficial.

Regularly checking your credit reports is another way to detect unauthorized activity. Credit monitoring services can alert you to changes in your credit report, such as new credit applications. O1ne Mortgage is here to assist you with any mortgage service needs. Call us at 213-732-3074 for expert guidance and support.

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