How to respond to CapitalOne credit card hack Consumer Watch

Out of the 100 million breached CapitalOne credit card holders’ personal information, both my husband and I are (horrors!) also on the list of 140,000 subscribers with their bank accounts accessed. Assuming readers already have checked to see if you’re on or off the list, and assuming those consumers who have been breached themselves haven’t done their homework, today’s column explains what to do for personal protection. Thanks to CNN.com and to my friends at WalletHub. › Change your password.

Since more than 80 percent of American adults reuse passwords, a major security vulnerability and a huge no-no, change your CapOne password to a more secure one. (We actually should do this to all of our credit cards on a regular basis.) › Sign up for 24/7 credit monitoring. This way, you’ll find out immediately if some

one tries to open an account in your name. WalletHub, for example, offers free 24/7 monitoring of your TransUnion credit report. You can also set up a free monitoring service through sites like Credit Karma, which will send you alert emails about any recent activity on your TransUnion or Equifax credit reports.

In addition to the Capital One monitoring, you may also be eligible for up to 10 years of free credit monitoring if you’re affected by the massive 2017 Equifax data breach. The credit bureau entered a $700 million settlement just a few weeks ago and has opened a claims process to boot.

› Freeze (NOT “alert”) your credit. Only about one in four U.S. adults have frozen their credit, despite past, major data breaches like Equifax in 2017 and Marriott in 2018. As I’ve urged and even begged so many times, contact the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Keep in mind that you’ll need to unfreeze your credit if you’re applying for any credit products in the future, like a personal loan, credit card or mortgage.

› Enable two-factor authentication. Yes, Capital One was hacked, but your cell phone wasn’t. One good idea is to use that device as another layer of protection whenever you log into both your email and financial accounts’ websites. › Stay on the lookout. Ultimately, all consumers need to be vigilant about suspicious activity, regardless if they were impacted by the Equifax, CapitalOne, or any other data breach. Don’t dare open, answer, call, or whatever or whomever you don’t personally know, including fake emails or phone calls from criminals posing as Capital One or any other. ALERT: The financial company advises that Capital One is not calling or emailing customers to ask for information such as credit card, account information or Social Security numbers. (Don’t be surprised if you see an upswing in unsolicited calls and emails requesting personal information.)