A popular photo printing website has announced that customer credit card data collected by a third party vendor may have been breached. As a precautionary measure, the company has temporarily disabled their website while the investigation into the breach is still pending. At this point, it is still unknown how many customers were impacted by the breach or what was information was accessed.
Data breaches within major companies are becoming all too commonplace these days. Luckily, there are steps you can take to protect your identity if you suspect you have fallen victim to one.
- Keep a close eye on all bank accounts, credit reports and any other financial accounts you may have. If activity alerts for your accounts are available, sign up for them. And if you receive an alert or spot any other unusual account activity, respond to the involved party as soon as possible.
- Pay attention to your regular utility bills and bank statements. If you suddenly stop receiving bills or start to receive new bills, this can be a red flag - a criminal could be using your information to open these accounts themselves.
- If your data is indeed compromised, contact affected entities – utility companies, banks and credit card companies.