HACKER Q&A
📣 itsnotneo

How to protect against possible Identity Theft in motion


Hi HN, long time user but using a throwaway for obvious reasons. I think someone has been trying to get into my accounts starting with Credit Card account for now. Since Christmas, I have replaced my credit card twice which tells me that the credit company has BS security. But today I found out that supposedly someone called them as me and asked for a new card/PIN. To be fair, they did put an alert on my account and flagged it so that's nice but I am now worried if this person has access to more of my details including SSN etc.

I am reasonably wealthy (as a small business owner) and have decent amount of assets including almost a million in cash between personal and business accounts. I am very good with security in general (use secure passwords everywhere, keypassx, 2 FA whereever possible, alerts/notifications enabled on transasction etc).

But I am now really worried if someone is actively trying to get into my accounts. What are some of the additional steps I can take ? Note that I am not 100% sure yet but I want to be prepared in case.

Should I freeze my credit in case they have access to my SSN ? I read that credit agencies are a joke so not sure what precautions I can take ?

  👤 LurkinGrue Accepted Answer ✓
Lock your credit reports and call your existing open ended credit institutions to request whatever additional security mechanisms they offer. Some offer specific code words, etc.

Locking a credit report is different than freezing. So be sure your choice matches the terminology used by each bureau and your situation.

Also request an identity theft PIN from the IRS (assuming you are in the US).

You may also sign up for one of the credit monitoring services through one of the bureaus that will send you notices about things affecting your identity.

React quickly to any odd information you receive about your identity and keep a detailed log about the events, who you talk to, and the nature of conversations.

You should also check to ensure that your identity hasn’t been used in any criminal matters. I’m not experienced in this area, so more research is warranted here.

While I understand your concerns about the credit bureaus, and agree, they are really the central point for collecting and utilizing personal data. Locking those and monitoring your records will go a long way towards prevention and early detection.