Consumer Blog

Question: I’m terrified that I may have been scammed. I accidentally gave my personal information to someone I called, because they convinced me they were with my credit card company. I hung up as soon as I figured it out, but I had already given away valuable information. Help! What do I do?

Answer: First, don’t beat yourself up. Unfortunately, this happens every day because sadly, we live in an era rife with scams — and thanks to technology, scammers have gotten incredibly savvy. If you’re wondering what personal information scammers seek to exploit in the first place, the answer is simple: All of it. They want anything they can get their hands on so they can present as a legitimate version of you. But the most common details they want are your Social Security number and date of birth.

If you think you’ve been scammed, the best ways to protect yourself are:

Freeze Your Credit

Many garden variety thieves want your info so they can apply for credit, so the first thing you need to do is freeze your credit, which is the most effective tool to prevent new account fraud. You can freeze your credit with all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion, to restrict access to your credit report. When you freeze, lenders and fraudsters are barred from viewing your information (until you unfreeze it). Thus, no one can fraudulently open a new line of credit in your good name.

Contact each bureau individually — you can do this online, via phone, or via snail mail — and request a credit freeze, which is free. It’s crucial to contact all three bureaus — here’s how to do it. Freezing your credit is not only something to do once your information is compromised; it’s also something you can do to be proactive. Even if you haven’t yet been scammed (to your knowledge), freeze your credit and freeze your children’s. Because let’s face it — we’re all at risk, all the time.

Monitor All Accounts and Invest in Protection

Next, monitor all your accounts. The only thing a credit freeze does is stop new account fraud. But for adults, most fraud is on existing accounts, so you’ll need to monitor all of those as well, and set alerts on all your accounts for unusual activity. You may also want to invest in identity theft protection services which offer credit monitoring and identity alerts to suspicious activity. If your information has been compromised, there’s often a restoration component that will involve experts who specialize in fixing stolen identities.

Change Your Passwords

Another important step: Change your passwords, even if they haven’t been compromised. For any important accounts you have, enable multi-factor verification, and set every alert that’s available. Also, ask yourself: “Am I using the same password for multiple accounts?” If so, change those, and make sure you’re practicing strong password security, perhaps with a password manager like 1Password or Dashlane.

Reduce Your Vulnerabilities

As we said, the scammers are getting good — really good. When they call you, your caller ID may display a name like “Social Security Administration” or “IRS,” which at first looks legit. But a legitimate government organization will never call you, so just hang up! The same holds true for scam emails that may look legit. Instead of responding or clicking a link in the email, call the number you have on file for the company or organization, and verify what’s going on.

If you’ve been scammed, it’s also important to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. And if you know that money was stolen, you’ll need to report the scam to your state attorney general and local law enforcement. Taking these steps won’t just help you — it’ll help prevent others from falling into the same trap.

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