Possible Social Security Number Leak: Services to Protect

A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that in April 2024, a hacking group called USDoD stole the personal information of 2.9 billion people, including social security numbers, addresses, dates of birth and phone numbers, Bloomberg Law reported.

Such news can be understandably scary, as identity theft can ruin your credit score and leave you spending countless hours trying to sort out the situation. But if you're worried, there's more you can do than just hope for the best. Here are some simple steps you can take to protect your identity.

By investing in a reliable identity theft protection service, you can identify potential fraud cases early and nip the problem in the bud before it gets out of control.

For example, Aura is a standout service that's designed to protect entire families. The service protects against financial fraud, identity theft, spam calls, online theft, phishing and scam websites, viruses, and malware. While you can purchase a plan for an individual, Aura's standout offerings are its plans for couples and families ($18/month when billed annually and $29/month when billed annually, respectively).

Other family-focused features include cyberbullying alerts in online games, child identity protection alerts, and family alert sharing. All of Aura's annual plans include a 14-day free trial.

IdentityForce is another service that can be helpful as all plans come with a dark web scan, which is useful after a data breach as hackers often aim to sell your personal information on the dark web.

IdentityForce also offers identity theft insurance of up to $1 million. This type of insurance can reimburse you for any costs you spend investigating your stolen identity. According to a report by Javelin Strategy & Research, an independent research firm focused on financial services, identity fraud cost Americans a total of $23 billion in 2023.

If this news makes you feel uneasy, you can quickly and easily freeze your credit today. When you freeze your credit, you prevent access to your credit report, which lenders need to approve new lines of credit, such as personal loans, mortgages and credit cards.

This means that while your credit is frozen, identity thieves cannot get new lines of credit approved in your name.

Credit freezes do not affect your credit score and do not affect your ability to use existing lines of credit (such as a credit card).

Setting up a credit freeze is free and easy, but you must do so with each of the three credit bureaus – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. With Experian, you can simply log into your account and freeze your credit with just one click. You may need to contact Equifax and TransUnion to freeze your credit:

If you have already been a victim of identity theft, you can take the following steps to restore your identity, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Crime Victims Division:

• Make sure you place a fraud alert on your credit report. Placing a fraud alert will prevent anyone from opening more lines of credit using your information. All you have to do is contact one of the three credit bureaus and they will contact the other two bureaus.
• Request a free copy of your credit report from the three credit bureaus. After a fraud alert is issued, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each credit bureau. It is important to review your report so you can identify specific instances in which your information was used to open a line of credit in your name.
• Keep track of all conversations and communications you have with financial institutions. If you need to take legal action later, it is important to have evidence of all your correspondence.
• File a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Filing a report with the FTC may allow your information to be entered into the Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, a database that helps law enforcement investigate identity theft cases.
• Contact your local police department to file a police report. Filing a police report can protect you from any penalties you may face for crimes committed in your name by an identity thief. While identity thieves do not always commit crimes in the victim's name, it doesn't hurt to be safe.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice to help them make informed decisions about their money. Each article is based on careful reporting by our team of experienced writers and editors with extensive knowledge of identity protection and credit monitoring products. While CNBC Select receives a commission from affiliates for many offers and links, we create all of our content without input from our sales team or outside third parties and pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. For more information on how we select the best identity theft protection services, see our methodology.