https://www.reddit.com/r/YouShouldKn...A5&sh=211881cf

really good info here. Also future prevention = block chain!

I was actually thinking about how biometrics would be a nice way to interface with that existing SSN.

Its already common place to have biometrics on consumer devices... iPhone finger print and now face with iPhone X, the MS Surface with facial recognition, been using that for 2+ years and its excellent.

Many of these things are already used for authentication. Even 2 factor auth (like the 6 digit pin you get texted) would solve more problems if applied correctly.

But its the GOV and probably won't see that in my lifetime.

I put a freeze on all 3 years ago and haven’t looked back. I released the freeze on one temporarily and it appears as though it no longer frozen which is odd but not a worry to me. I’ve tried to buy on new credit a few times and get rejected so all appears good.

Some state laws permit your to freeze your accounts at no charge. Colorado is one so it’s no cost. One bonus of freezing your accounts is that junk mail drops to about nothing which is a pleasant surprise.

That's such a juicy target for hackers because of the amount and nature of the information they store. They probably get no less than 100 attack attempts daily from all around the world. Someone finally got through. Also makes you wonder how many got through but were not detected or were not publicly disclosed.

I read somewhere that if you have a credit card it has already been stolen. It's just a matter of time before someone uses your numbers. It's like a gizzilien cc numbers all in a pile. When a crook wants to use one he pays his $$ and picks a number. If he picks your neighbors' number then you are lucky.

credit cards have 0 liability for you if they are compromised though.

ex. thief A steals your cc number and uses it fraudulently. You report it compromised. Credit card company company cuts it off, deals with it, sends you a new card, no questions asked.

that is not the case for debit cards (which is why i do NOT use my debit card for anything but to get money from the ATM). Even debit cards with credit card logos on them, aka check cards. If it is compromised the repercussions are bigger in my experience.

ex. thief A steals your debit card number and uses it fraudulently. You report it compromised. Your checking account is frozen while the whole mess is figured out.

TL;DR YMMV, not all banks are created equal, and freeze your credit people, for your own safety!

What really torques me about this whole turd... this is a problem that pretty much three companies created to begin with. They took it upon themselves to create this credit market without you the users consent, store a crap ton of vital information about people, then have the balls to say that you need to pay them to keep your data safe when in fact they are the ones that should be taking that role to begin with.

A sad f'n joke.

Credit freezes too, (all three) these f'kers even have the balls to charge you $10+ to do that, seriously wtf?

The stuff is orders of magnitude worse than Sirius/XM.

Problem, reaction, solution. There are certain forces controlling many, many things.
As long as the fear is perpetual, people are exceptionally easy to control/manipulate.

Eventually you'll need a 'license' to use the internet......in the name of safety, of course... People will gladly pay for it, and they'll pay dearly. ;^)

Absolutely

I finally convinced my mother to put a freeze on all 3. She was successful with all but Transunion. She ended up having to call to try and put the freeze on it. Well guess where that phone call went....someone from India answered! He said, in broken English, that he could freeze her account but needed her social security number.....so now what do you do? Can't trust anyone and everything is outsourced!

Lifelock here since my wife's purse was stolen five years ago.

But... even with PIN number, it can still be hacked.

We are all at the mercy of these data aggregators. Who are completely unregulated. The financial details of our lives are the product they sell. It's all pretty disgusting. So, all my credit files are frozen. I keep an eye on my accounts. And then about once a year I have to cancel a card anyway...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/23/b...ta-breach.html

The only good thing that came out of this...i got a chance to buy its stocks at low price.

If you like buying stock after a big drop I have some Enron I will sell you..