Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers
  • Home
  • About PACB
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors 2022-2023
    • PACB Services, Inc.
    • Hall of Fame
    • Contact
  • Membership
    • Benefits of Associate Membership
    • Become A PACB Member!
    • Member Listing
    • Member Login
    • 2023 Sponsorship Opportunities
    • PACB INSPIRE Awards
    • PACB Job Board
    • PACB Connected Community Portal
  • Advocacy
    • PACB Advocacy and Issues
    • Capitol Connect - PACB Podcasts
    • Legislative Events
    • PACB Advocacy Events
    • Legislative Update Calls
    • FIRSTPAC
    • Legislative Column
    • Grass Roots Lobbying
    • ICBA Community Bank Advocacy
  • Education
    • Education & Event Calendar >
      • Be a PACB Speaker
    • Webinars
    • On-Demand Virtual Programming
    • NextGen"U"
    • Next Gen U - Fall 2022 Special Pricing Program
    • ICBA Community Banker U
    • PACB Foundation Scholarships
    • Center for Financial Training
    • SBS Institute Certification Programs
  • Communications
    • News
    • PACB CONNECT!
    • PPP News & Information
    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Consumer Services >
      • Consumer Tips
    • Hometown Banker Magazine
    • Hometown Banker Website
    • Social Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Video Collections
  • 2023 Convention
    • 2023 Attendee Information
    • 2023 Exhibitor Information
    • 2023 Sponsorships
  • Advertising Opportunities
  • Home
  • About PACB
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors 2022-2023
    • PACB Services, Inc.
    • Hall of Fame
    • Contact
  • Membership
    • Benefits of Associate Membership
    • Become A PACB Member!
    • Member Listing
    • Member Login
    • 2023 Sponsorship Opportunities
    • PACB INSPIRE Awards
    • PACB Job Board
    • PACB Connected Community Portal
  • Advocacy
    • PACB Advocacy and Issues
    • Capitol Connect - PACB Podcasts
    • Legislative Events
    • PACB Advocacy Events
    • Legislative Update Calls
    • FIRSTPAC
    • Legislative Column
    • Grass Roots Lobbying
    • ICBA Community Bank Advocacy
  • Education
    • Education & Event Calendar >
      • Be a PACB Speaker
    • Webinars
    • On-Demand Virtual Programming
    • NextGen"U"
    • Next Gen U - Fall 2022 Special Pricing Program
    • ICBA Community Banker U
    • PACB Foundation Scholarships
    • Center for Financial Training
    • SBS Institute Certification Programs
  • Communications
    • News
    • PACB CONNECT!
    • PPP News & Information
    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Consumer Services >
      • Consumer Tips
    • Hometown Banker Magazine
    • Hometown Banker Website
    • Social Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Video Collections
  • 2023 Convention
    • 2023 Attendee Information
    • 2023 Exhibitor Information
    • 2023 Sponsorships
  • Advertising Opportunities

Consumer Tips

Protecting Consumers Against Data Breaches

5/31/2012

 
Picture of the words DATA BREACH written in red on an electronic background
The possibility of the average consumer becoming a victim of a data breach grows with each new advancement in the electronic age.
​
A data breach occurs when sensitive or confidential information—driver’s license numbers, medical records, Social Security numbers, bank or credit card account numbers—is stolen, copied or used by an unauthorized person.


As recently as 2004, only one state required businesses to alert consumers if their personal data had been stolen. Since then, legislation has passed in 45 additional states to ensure that affected consumers be contacted should their personal information be lost or stolen. While the news media provides a welcome window for reporting the major breaches affecting millions of accounts, it’s not always large companies suffering from such thefts. The perpetrator could be an employee, a partner or an external person, such as a computer hacker.

But, there are steps that can be taken at the consumer level to protect against a personal data breach.
  • Take the time to review credit card and bank statements for fraudulent charges on your accounts at least monthly. With online access to accounts, it is easier than ever to check transactions and you'd be wise to check your statement more often than monthly. Contact the financial institution immediately if there is a suspicious charge and report it.
  • Request that the financial institution close any accounts that you suspect were compromised and ask for replacement cards with new account numbers and PINs.
  • Determine if there have been any unusual requests such as change-of-address or attempts to secure additional or replacement credit cards.
  • Instruct the card issuer not to honor any requests regarding your card without your written authorization.
  • Credit card issuers offer a variety of email and/or text notices. You can ask for a notice when charges over a certain amount are made or when your balance reaches a certain level.

If you have been the victim of identity theft, contact each of the three credit reporting agencies—Equifax, TransUnion and Experian—and place a security freeze on your account. With a freeze in place, the information in your credit report will not be released to anyone, making it almost impossible for an identity thief to open a new account in your name. If you wish to apply for a new loan or credit card, you will need to temporarily lift the freeze by providing a password.

Report the identity theft to the police, as you may need to provide a copy of the police report to your bank, creditors and credit reporting agencies. If the local police are not familiar with investigating information compromises, contact the local office of the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service.

To ensure that an identity thief has not opened a new account in your name, you should review your credit report. To obtain a free copy of the report, go to www.annualcreditreport.com. If there are any accounts on your report that you did not open, contact the credit bureau to report the fraud and dispute the charges.

Resources: Georgia Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection

This information is provided with the understanding that the association is not engaged in rendering specific legal, accounting, or other professional services. If specific expert assistance is required, the services of a competent, professional person should be sought.


Provided as a public service by the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers.

Comments are closed.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    December 2017
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011

    Categories

    All
    Budget
    Charity
    Children
    CHIP
    Christmas
    College
    Community Banking Month
    Consumer Tips
    Credit
    Debit
    Debt
    Disaster Preparedness
    Donations
    Elderly
    EMV
    Financial Literacy
    Fraud
    Healthcare
    Insurance
    Investment
    Legal
    Loan
    Mortgage
    Overdraft
    Overdraft Protection
    Recession
    Retirement
    Security
    Technology
    Travel
    Will

    RSS Feed

Upcoming Events


PACB Services, Inc. Preferred Providers

Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers  
800 N. 3rd Street, Suite 304
Harrisburg, PA 17102


​Phone: (717) 231-7447

pacb@pacb.org | sitemap
(C) All Rights Reserved
​Our Privacy Policy
      Our Copyright Policy
Picture
"To empower community banks to make positive impact within the communities they serve."