Question:  

Our credit cards were hacked again. We’re very concerned about privacy. What suggestions can you make to protect our data?

Answer: 

I’m so sorry to hear you had to deal with this unfortunate breach and the chaos that it causes. As our lives become more digitally integrated, the bad guys will go where the opportunities exist, and that is online. In 2028, MIT researchers found that individuals could be identified by combining two anonymized data sets; that’s not too difficult to do. The New York Times went further in 2019 exposing the risk to privacy on a massive scale if a major tech firm’s anonymized location date was stolen and cross-referenced to publicly available property records.

Our credit card providers called recently asking if someone in our household had spent thousands of dollars at several home improvement and retail stores. The answer was absolutely not. They voided the card, made credit adjustments, and issued a new card. What a hassle, especially when there are recurring auto-payments set up on your card. Fortunately, financial institutions track and are familiar with your spending patterns and will often alert you when something appears suspicious.

Your commitment to improving privacy starts with smart devices such as a phone, tablet or computer and the services you use when using these tools. Look into the manufacturer and service provider's privacy policies. In the meantime, here are a few best practices to help minimize the amount of information data collectors can access.

Turn off personalized ads

Many of the largest ad space sellers, particularly those providing tech services like email and social media, now give the option to depersonalize your advertising experience. They’ll still collect the information, but there are some limits to how specifically targeted the ads can be. This is becoming a battleground topic in the tech industry, as companies that don’t rely on ad sales are finding privacy to be a strong selling point.

Skip the quiz

That silly online quiz to help you determine personality traits or if you’re more like peanut butter or jelly are often mining and gathering serious information about you. Many online shopping accounts rely on security questions to establish your identity, questions that are sometimes snuck into online quizzes.

Go digital and shred the rest

Your home or driveway may be advertising your wealth, making your mailbox and your trash a target. Despite the well-publicized thefts of user data in recent years, an online account is in many ways more secure than an unlocked mailbox, and generally less personal. Privacy experts recommend making the switch, and when you do get physical mail that contains information about your health, finances, or family, make sure to shred it before you toss it.

Know what health data is being collected

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, protects information shared with your care provider. There is not a similar regulation for health data you share with your fitness device manufacturer. It’s worthwhile to understand what information is being collected and for what purposes. Go into the device settings to see what options you have. The EULA, or end-user license agreement, will have more information if you can read legalese. 

As careful as you are with passwords, personal information, and privacy online, it’s still possible for relentless hackers to breach your credit card or even steal your identity. One way to fight back is to freeze your credit to prevent criminal activity such as fraudulent credit card applications, even if your Social Security number or date of birth have been compromised. Freezing your credit is a good preventative measure as well. 

Freeze

It’s relatively easy to freeze your credit and protect yourself from fraud. You’ll need to have your information readily available and contact the three major credit bureaus: Equifax (800-349-9960), Experian (888-397-3742), and TransUnion (888-909-8872). You may want to contact two lesser known credit bureaus, Innovis (866-712-4546) and the National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange (866-349-5355). You can do this by phone, mail or online. When it’s time to thaw or unfreeze your credit, it’s the same process; contact each credit bureau and ask them to unfreeze your information. Once submitted, your credit will usually unfreeze within minutes. 

A credit lock (different from a freeze) is offered by individual credit bureaus to add convenience such as control through a mobile app to freeze and unfreeze credit. These services may require a fee and are often not as secure as a traditional credit care freeze. Stay focused and plan accordingly.