Hello reader, welcome to my Week 8 post!
If you had just stolen a few million passwords, how much would you sell them for? I'm making a big assumption that you are some kind of criminal seeking a profit from someone else's info. So, how much would you make off this score?
This past week a Russian hacker was selling 272 million unique e-mail addresses and passwords for the whopping price of 50 rubles. Folks, that about $0.75. The hacker was quoted as saying, "I am just getting rid of it but I won't do it for free."
This story got me thinking, was my e-mail and/or password one that he was selling? I took the opportunity to see if I had been "pwned" at the fittingly named https://haveibeenpwned.com/. It turns out, I have been, but not too recently. My data was potentially taken during two different breaches in 2013.
So, what should I do?
The Federal Trade Commission has authored a handy guide to help you along if you are unfortunate enough to have your identity stolen, so I won't pretend I can help other than giving you the link below. But here's the short-and-sweet:
1. Plan ahead - if you have a personal recovery plan to help you through, the process will be much much smoother.
2. Update and track your plan - if a step in your plan doesn't work, or something changes, it won't do you much good at all. Updating it with current info will be your lifeline if you ever have to use it.
3. Contact - you need to get in touch with the credit bureaus and your banking institutions. Having preprinted letters for each establishment, again, will help you in the process.
I hope you never have to deal with a full identity theft. If you do, follow the guide and be committed to clearing your name. Good luck!!!
REFERENCES:
http://www.vocativ.com/315608/russian-hacker-email/
https://haveibeenpwned.com/
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0009-taking-charge.pdf
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