On Wednesday, January 29, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would launch an investigation of the “Target data breach,” a break-in of the retailer’s security system late last year that allowed up to 40 million customers’ personally identifiable financial information to be stolen. The extent of the breach still isn’t known, such as whether people’s bank accounts have been used for unauthorized purchases or credit applications, but it’s been a real headache for Target and banks. For those trying to avoid New York bankruptcy as more and more private financial information is transmitted over the Internet for convenience, it’s a good idea to review some basic protection measures.
(1) Use separate credit accounts to pay bills. This point might be counterintuitive: Usually, limiting one’s number of credit cards makes it easier to protect oneself from identity theft, security breaches or the extra effort necessary to ensure all bills are paid on time. However, keeping one set of credit cards for paying regular charges is a good idea. Not all credit card or debit card theft occurs because of hackers. It’s easy for servers at restaurants, for instance, to copy down your credit card information and sell it. They’ll probably get caught, but if you have to cancel or suspend an account, or wait for new cards to arrive in the mail, it’s a lot easier to not have to worry about missing monthly payments.
(2) Encrypt your digital data. Many people have portable computers of some form or another, like laptops or tablets. It’s very convenient to put personal financial information on these machines, including e-mails, Web browser caches, and work files. These machines, though, can be stolen very easily and once accessed the information can be used at your expense. You might not even know what information you put on those machines. A way to prevent unauthorized access is to use encryption software for sensitive files. TrueCrypt is probably the best software for this and it works on all major (and minor) operating systems. It even allows users to encrypt hard drives and operating systems.
(3) Be careful with how you use your smart phone. Similarly, smart phones that allow Web access make it very tempting to use them for personal banking and other activities. It’s a good idea to limit this use because phones are easily lost or stolen with the information on them.
(4) Store important documents safely. Banks will often offer safe deposit boxes to account holders, and it’s a good idea to take them up on it. Store documents you don’t need regularly but are critically important, like Social Security cards, passports, or immigration information.
(5) Change passwords regularly. Many people whose data may have been compromised by the Target data breach might not be regular shoppers. It would be unfortunate if infrequent customers’ data are sold. It’s a good idea to track the accounts you have with various Web retailers, and change the passwords for them frequently. This is especially true for online banking Web sites.
There isn’t a lot for private citizens to do when hackers attack third parties that might have their data, but there are ways to protect personally identifiable financial information from direct theft. Good practices can keep people out of bankruptcy, but if it’s too late, then you need an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer to handle your case.
For answers to more questions about data theft and bankruptcy, the automatic stay, effective strategies for dealing with foreclosure, and protecting your assets in bankruptcy please feel free to contact experienced Brooklyn bankruptcy trustee Bruce Weiner for a free initial consultation.
