What is the scary truth? It's that it keeps happening and the breaches are getting bigger. It also appears to be nonstop at this point.
I know I keep harping on this whole identity theft/data protection thing, but as I dig more deeply into the research, I can’t help but continue to sound the alarm and encourage our clients, subscribers, friends and family to make sure they’re protected. I find it’s absolutely outrageous what’s going on out there.
In 2017, the world saw more data breaches than any year prior. Most noteworthy, on December 20th, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) reported that there were 1,293 total data breaches, compromising more than 174 million records. That’s 45% more breaches than 2016. Did this disturbing trend continue in 2018?
I'll go into this more below, but I wanted throw in a plug for my the ID theft insurance provider I've used for years. I had an ID theft debacle back in 2011 and it would have been MUCH worse had I not had an identity theft insurance policy in place.
I know, like, trust, use and recommend Identity Force as my identity theft insurance provider.
In 2018 some of the largest data breaches to date including Marriott, Dunkin' Donuts and Under Armour. Here’s a list from 2018 for you to ingest.
Take a second to try and absorb the gravity of just how big this list is and how it’s growing. I was astounded to find Lifelock on this list at number 46! Aren't they supposed to be protecting us?!
My jaw just dropped as I read this list (which can be found over at: https://www.identityforce.com/blog/2018-data-breaches). It’s just absolutely overwhelming in
"So, what does it all mean, Basel?" It means that our data is out there.
It means that the level of ineptitude of these large organizations that collect, store and are responsible or our data have little to no incentive (apparently) to lock down our personal information and are throwing us to the wolves.
That in itself should be criminal, but since there’s not much we can do about it from an offensive perspective, there’s much we can do about it from a defensive perspective.
Let's focus on what you can do to protect yourself.
Identity thieves will make a mess of your situation. You'll need a small team of people to help you make it right again.
At this point, you have to have identity theft insurance.
That's a given and very few would argue against it. But what many don't know is that that ID Theft Policy needs to have and Admin/Recovery element.
But, what is that and what does it mean?
An Administrative and/or Recovery clause in an ID theft policy means you'll have an actual team of folks at the insurance company that will do all the admin clean up for you when someone steals your identity and uses it for nefarious purposes like, filing a fraudulent tax return, opening a credit card or buying a car in your name.
And, this “clean up” involves hours upon hours of calling the credit bureaus, banks, creditors, government entities, etc. to take care of any malicious activity that has occurred and to help clear you of any potential liability (i.e. debts incurred, fraudulent taxes filed) incurred as a result of your compromised identity.
I'm speaking from experience when I tell you that an ID theft policy with a great admin recovery feature is worth its weight in gold during your ID theft nightmare and Identity Force is the best.
They literally saved me over 100 hours of lost time from work/life by coming along side me during this disaster!
So, to ensure you’re not completely hosed by this list of 107 data breach and others’ data security ineptitude go ahead and get a policy in place.
Yes, my ID theft debacle was terrible, but would have been MUCH worse had I not had an identity theft insurance policy in place.
I know, like, trust, use and recommend Identity Force as my identity theft insurance provider.
Like I mentioned before, Identity Force saved me more than 100 hours of "recovery" work when my identity was compromised. Again, the recovery work is really the most important element of the ID theft policy.
Whichever provider you choose for ID theft insurance, make sure that there is an "administrative" or "recovery" element to the policy.
This is important because with ID theft, you're rarely going to be on the hook for the charges a thief makes.
The real nightmare is always in the cleanup.
This entails calling all the credit rating agencies, dealing with taxing authorities, credit card companies, banks, etc.
The disruption to your life in the form of the hours you'll spend on the cleanup will be more than you can imagine.
So, the moral of the story: get an ID Theft insurance policy as soon as possible. Don’t procrastinate on this. ID theft is real. It's not a scare tactic, it's just the truth.
Identity Force is a great provider for you to consider. You may have noticed the often quoted "LifeLock" as being on the above list. That's a little ironic, don't you think?
All that said, here are three things to keep in mind as you consider ID theft insurance.
Identity theft has become more and more common each year. For example, in 2014, 17.6 million Americans became victims of identity theft.(1) In 2017, hackers stole the personal information of nearly 148 million Americans in a single breach.(2)
What!!? This is outrageous, but it's also the new normal.
Even if you're careful about protecting your personal information, these companies' databases are under constant attack.
These hackers will steal your date of birth, address, debit card number, email address, and more.
Remember, there is more than one type of identity theft: financial, criminal, Social Security, medical, IRS.
The list keeps growing. Cleaning up the mess could take you hundreds of hours of work.
Now, do you have debt? Is it time to get the rest of your financial house in order? Let me introduce you to...
0. Stop All Retirement Investing (Until Step 4)2. Starter Emergency Fund of $10003. Eliminate Debts Smallest To Largest (a.k.a The Debt Snowball)4. Full Emergency Fund of 3-6+ Months’ Expenses5. Invest A Minimum of 15% Income Into Retirement Accounts (and increase savings rate to 50%+ if possible)6. College Funding (if applicable)7. Pay Off The Home Mortgage8. Build Wealth, Serve, Be Ridiculously Generous And Go FI (Financial Independence)!
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