Has your data been breached?
Learn more below about what to do when your data is breached.
Hey Legal Eagles, I’m here to tell you the 5 simple things you need to do when you find out your data has been breached. And stay until the end—because the last step is the most important. I know – most of us think this would probably never happen to us, but unfortunately, if you’re an American, your data has already been breached, and it likely will happen again, but you don’t have to be a victim when it does – here’s what to do:
If you get that letter in the mail saying your data has been breached, change your passwords immediately.
This is really common sense, but if money goes missing from your bank account, it’s a red flag. If you notice that charges have been made, you need to tell your financial institution as soon as possible.
Almost every time a company tells you that your data has been breached, they also tell you that you can sign up for free credit monitoring. It’s not really free, the cost is that you had your data breached – you already paid for it, so you should use it. It will help you do what I said in step two.
Here’s why – in a lot of data breaches, what the thief is trying to do is get your social security number and file your taxes before you do so they get your return, and once they’ve got that money, they’re gone. You cannot let this happen to you – you must file right away, do not delay, do everything you can to be ready to hit send to the IRS as soon as you’re able to do so the next year.
People who are the victims of data breaches have rights; they are often entitled to money damages. You need to talk to a lawyer about it! Lawyers who handle data breach cases do not charge you money – they get money from the company who allowed the data to be breached. You can talk to lawyers about this free and confidential. It may be that you would be the perfect kind of person to stand up for all the people whose data was breached and say, “Wait, you should’ve done a better job, these lawyers I hired are going to get me some money.” If you’re the type of person who likes to stand up when something wrong has happened, this step 5 is for you. It’s free and easy. If you have been a victim of a data breach and you want to talk to an attorney, then submit a claim form on this page and we at Eagle Team will do our best to get you matched with a lawyer who can help.
