Whac-A-Mole, the Data Breach, and Me

My personal information was snared in the recent AT&T data breach. Basically, the scam-o-sphere now knows everything about me.

But the real rub is, I also responded to a phishing email from The Bank. In detail. I couldn’t believe I’d done that. (Cue shame and embarrassment.) Note to self: never respond to important emails until after you’ve had your morning coffee.

This was a next-level identity crisis.

And it hurt.

Once I realized what had just happened (and confirmed it with the real bank), I sprang into action.

What to expect when you ride the hamster wheel of potential identity theft

If you believe your personal data might have been compromised, you’ll need to act fast.

You’ll need to:

Change your passwords. I’ve got a lot of ‘em, and I changed every single one. Mac has a cool feature where you can access a pull-down menu of passworded accounts. You’ll find it in System Preferences>Passwords.

Alert the credit bureaus. You really don’t want scammers opening credit accounts in your name. So, reach out to the credit agencies and tell them what’s going on. There are three national credit agencies: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. If you notify one, they’ll automatically notify the others. (But I chose to contact all three agencies, because this incident triggered trust issues.)

They’ll ask you if you want to do a security alert or a security freeze. Fraud alerts give creditors and lenders a heads-up so they can take extra precautions confirming your identity before issuing you credit. Credit report locks and security freezes restrict your credit file so news accounts can’t be opened.

Notify Social Security. The rep from the Social Security Administration said my account wouldn’t be in danger because I’m not currently receiving payouts. But she did tell me to call the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Notify the FTC. Good luck reaching them by phone. I called several times, followed different prompts each time, and was always directed back to the website.

Notify the credit card companies. Instead of simply alerting the credit card companies, I went for the nuclear option: I had the banks issue new cards with new account numbers. It’s going to be an activation bonanza.

Set up credit monitoring. Buy yourself some peace of mind by signing up for a credit-monitoring service. If you were part of the AT&T data breach, you can call the AT&T Free Credit Monitoring Enrollment Line to get free credit tracking for up to a year.

But it won’t necessarily be easy.

When I called, the guy on the phone, Jason, said he needed to verify that I am who I say I am. He asked a bunch of screening questions which, ironically, made me feel safe and secure for the first time since this ordeal began.

But after the screening questions, there was another step: The Verbal Quiz.

Bad news for anyone who ever choked on a test.

More things I wish I’d done differently

Jason was a fast talker, and he fired a million multiple-choice questions at me. It didn’t feel like a simple quiz, it felt like an interrogation. These questions were a combination of recent facts (easy stuff) and ancient history – such as old cars, old addresses, old phone numbers. Old license plate numbers. Old roommates. Even the year my current dwelling was built. (It’s an apartment building. How would I know when it was built?)

Apparently, I gave a wrong answer.

To which Jason blithely replied, “We can’t verify your identity. Call back in 72 hours to take the quiz again.”

That’s right: I flunked the identity test. 

I flunked my own identity test.

The bottom line

Staying ahead of identity thieves is a high-stakes game of Whac-A-Mole. If you think your personal data has been compromised, act quickly. And if you played a part in getting your data into the wrong hands, go easy on yourself.

What’s done is done.

And remember, anything worth having, like your virtual identity, is worth protecting.

I just hope the thieves have to deal with Jason.

DATA BREACH Resources

AT&T Data Breach Free Credit Monitoring Enrollment Line
(866) 346-0416
(833) 931-4853
att.com/accountsafety

Free access to your credit report every 7 days
www.annualcreditreport.com

Experian
(888) 397-3742

TransUnion
(800) 680-7289

Equifax
(888) 766-0008

Social Security Administration (SSA)
(800) 772-1213

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
IdentityTheft.gov