Cyber 3 min read
5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Prevent Identity Theft
By Ben Pollock · @benny.bytes
Here's what you can do right now to protect yourself.
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Turn on every transaction alert you possibly can in your banking app.
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Use a password manager, and make cryptographically strong passwords.
I use NordPass. I'm talking 30 characters with symbols, and a different one for every account.
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Use an authenticator app for multi-factor authentication.
Not text-message codes. A SIM swap steals your phone number; it can't steal the app on your phone.
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MONITOR YOUR CREDIT DAILY.
Every day. It takes thirty seconds and it's the only way you'll catch a new account or inquiry before it does damage.
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If you see a credit inquiry you don't recognize, go to a major bureau and immediately put in a credit freeze.
Freezes are free at all three bureaus, don't touch your score, and you can lift them any time you actually need credit.
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Quick answers
What is the fastest way to protect yourself from identity theft?
Turn on every transaction alert in your banking app, move your logins into a password manager with long random passwords, switch multi-factor authentication to an authenticator app, check your credit daily, and freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion the moment you see an inquiry you don't recognize.
Does a credit freeze cost money or hurt my credit score?
No. Under U.S. federal law credit freezes are free at all three major bureaus, and a freeze does not affect your credit score. You can lift it temporarily whenever you apply for credit.
Why use an authenticator app instead of text-message codes?
SMS codes can be intercepted through SIM-swap attacks on your phone number. An authenticator app generates codes on your device, so an attacker needs the physical phone, not just your number.