[ezcol_2third]Regrettably, the Equifax breach is not the first and will almost certainly not be the last incident of its kind, despite the diligence of financial institutions, governmental entities and businesses to ensure the security of consumer information.
Maintaining a heightened sense of awareness about your personal information is a theme that has evolved in the wake of the Equifax breach.
This CNN Money article offers five important tips about protecting your personal information. Those tips include checking your credit report annually, placing fraud alerts on your credit report, maintaining diligence with regard to bank accounts and credit card statements, subscribing to credit monitoring or identity theft protection services and, in some cases, placing a freeze on your credit if you believe your personal information has been compromised.
Diligence is a key to protecting your personal financial information. Immediately reporting any indication of fraud to your bank, credit card issuing company or other business is the best way to ensure the issue is handled appropriately. Additionally, frequently updating account passwords provides another important level of protection.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosts a website designed to help victims of identity theft. IdentityTheft.gov provides tools and resources for reporting identity theft and implementing a plan of action to address the issue.
Equifax has established a website that provides progress updates about its efforts following the breach, including clarifications regarding various news reports and other information that circulated last week as well as services the company offers to affected consumers.
WK places the highest degree of value on relationships with our clients and the personal information shared with us. Our policies related to network security and the protection of all client data are monitored continuously. We will provide additional updates, as needed, with regard to this important issue.
Please contact your WK advisor at (573) 442-6171 or (573) 635-6196 to discuss the impact of data breaches on your personal financial situation.
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