Protect Your Information Against Data Breaches #LifeLock

This is a Brand Ambassador sponsored post with Find Your Influence and LifeLock. All opinions are my own and may differ from yours.

As consumers we are always purchasing at retail stores and online using our credit cards. In such a technology world, we no longer carry cash with us and most of use either a debit card or a credit card for purchases. Unfortunately, if any of these retailers were to have a security breach, our information would be in the wrong hands.

It’s scary to think that my information and identity could possibly be breached just because I made a purchase through a retailer. Even scarier to think that it can still happen to big retailers such as Home Depot, like what happened earlier this month. My husband himself was one of the many consumers who were compromised last holiday season when Target stores were breached. The scariest part was not knowing in the beginning if his information was stolen or not. We had to wait until all information was delivered to the retailer and they would contact our credit card holders.

Thankfully our bank responded immediately when they were contacted that in deed his information was breached! The first thing they did was cancel his credit card and re-issue a new one. I truly do wish that we would have had LifeLock at the time. I believe it would have avoided lots of phone calls, time, and not knowing if it was worse that it actually was.

A data breach occurs when confidential information, like your Social Security number, credit card number, or health information is accessed by unauthorized people. Studies show that individuals who receive a data breach notification letter are more than four times as likely to become victims of identity theft. How scary is that?

 Here are some great tips to Protect Your Information Against Data Breaches LifeLock shared after the Home Depot breach was released.

• Monitor your transactions: Keep an eye on the activity on your credit and debit card accounts, looking for any charges that don’t seem to be yours.
• Report suspicious transactions immediately: If you see a card transaction—even a small one—that doesn’t look right, contact the card issuer immediately. The phone number is on the back of your card.
• Order a new debit card: If you believe your debit card number was compromised, don’t wait for fraudulent charges to start appearing on your statement. Request a new card from your bank. This way, you reduce the chances of a criminal depleting your bank account, and you avoid potential challenges in recovering your funds. Credit cards offer more protection and less risk because funds are not directly withdrawn from your bank account as they are with a debit card.
• Follow the story: Investigation of this crime is still under way. Watch for news and communication from Home Depot.
• Consider using an identity protection service: LifeLock provides identity protection products and services you can count on. In fact, with LifeLock Advantage and LifeLock Ultimate Plus, we can help you detect fraudulent activity with alerts for cash withdrawals, balance transfers and large purchases within our extensive network.

The new LifeLock Ultimate Plus program offers several new activity alerts that add peace of mind against identity fraud in a digitally connected world.

LifeLock would like to offer my readers a 10% off promo code “breachwatch”. Make sure to visit the LifeLock website for some more great and educational tips on how to stay safe from Identity Theft. I also recommend liking them on Facebook.

What type of measure do you take to make sure your information is protected?