Hackers have obtained millions of usernames, passwords and credit cards. You may be asking yourself, why is this happening?
When someone hacks into your account, it will end up costing you money, time, and distress.
When accounts get hacked and the owner of that account doesn’t find out about it until their credit is already damaged, it takes effort to make thing right again.
The damage done depends on the hacker and how much access they had with your accounts.
In the recent case with Target, 40 million stolen credit cards and debit card accounts were hacked into.
Hackers are able to access your account and even make fraudulent cards.
Consumers sometimes don’t suffer much from the hacks, but sometimes they do.
Individuals cancel their accounts and wait for replacement cards, so the banks end up taking the financial hit.
When hackers get a hold of usernames and passwords, the problem gets much bigger.
Experts say that makes it easier to break into you email, seeing people use the same usernames and passwords for multiple accounts.
For help on creating a great password for your accounts see our recent post, Long passwords don’t offer “safe option”.
Smart hackers attempt to use your stolen passwords to access your email attached to your account.
It is proven that more than half of us keep the same password for most websites. Among that half, many use passwords such as, “password”, “123456″, or “welcome”.
These easy to guess passwords are not secure and routinely make you vulnerable to attacks.
Tricky Tricksters
Criminals can ruin your credit history by taking out bank loans in your name. The clean up is messy, because to get this fixed, you must work with all three major credit reporting agencies and the federal government.The main way to steal your identity is to use your Social Security number.
Criminals sometimes pose as you and send emails to your doctor and accountant requesting documents that show your Social Security number. Many other records are easily obtained online.
If someone is using your Social Security number, they can take loans out and make purchases beyond what you would expect.
Identity theft will wreak havoc with your finances, credit history, and reputation.
You may have to change your social security number and to do so you need to convince the Social Security Administration that identity theft has happened and you’ve exhausted all options for stopping the criminals.
Hackers may even act as you towards your friends or family. They will request money due to an emergency.
If you experience identity theft, it can take time, money, and patience to resolve.
References:
How hack attacks can cost you money – CNN Money
http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/06/technology/security/hack-cost/
January 6, 2014
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