A significant data breach that occurred last week at National Public Data

Private information of a multitude was jeopardised in a massive data breach last week. Cybercriminals gained access to the personal information, including Social Security numbers, of billions of Americans in the shocking and harrowing data breach at National Public Data last week. It is alleged that the breach contains data dating back at least thirty years, and the fact that Social Security numbers are among the data has sparked a lot of privacy concerns.
Are you pondering if it affected you and were you also among the victims? Here's how to ascertain it.

How to determine whether the breach involved your Social Security number?

A cybersecurity company has launched a tool called Pentester to allow you to determine whether your data was compromised. Enter your birth year, last name, and first name on npd.pentester.com using a web browser. A list of compromised accounts will appear along with the final four digits of the compromised Social Security numbers.


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Steps to take in case your Social Security number is breached

NPD advises Americans to monitor their financial accounts to prevent hackers from accessing personal information. They recommend setting up credit monitoring and a fraud alert with three U.S. credit reporting agencies, namely, Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. This will create a fraud alert on your account, alerting creditors to get in touch with you before they open a new account or make changes to an existing one. The other agencies will set it up after the first one does. Following the initial year of validity, it is refundable. A credit freeze can also be used to prevent new credit from being issued without permission. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group recommends a security freeze over credit monitoring for better protection against identity theft.

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FAQs

What is a credit freeze?
A freeze that stops the issuance of new credit without an individual’s direct consent is called a credit freeze.

Who are the 3 major credit reporting agencies in the US?
Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian are the 3 major credit reporting agencies in the US.