What To Do When You’ve Been Hacked

With the holiday season behind us, the joy of the most wonderful time of the year may be slowly fading away as you review your online banking to track your gift purchases. As you scroll through, you find something that doesn’t look right. After racking your mind and retracing your steps, you realize that this transaction is not yours and that your card has been compromised! What do you do now? Act fast with these steps to stop this hacker from doing any more damage.

Call your credit card company or bank immediately.

Whether your credit card is through a national organization or a local bank, it is important to call them right away to let them know your number has been compromised and it needs to be canceled. They will work with you to get you a new card and the sooner you report the fraudulent activity, the more likely it is that you will be able to get a refund on that charge.

Change your online shopping account information.

When your credit card information is stolen online, it’s always best to assume any site you have used could be affected. Go into the retail sites that you use and remove your credit card information so that it needs to be manually entered when a purchase is made. Yes, this can make it a little inconvenient but it’s better than having your information taken.

Check your computer to make sure it has up-to-date anti-virus software.

Somehow the hackers got your information, so it’s important to make sure you are protected in the future with a proper anti-virus software on your computer. Check monthly for any updates that may roll out so that you can ease your mind knowing you are covered.

Watch out for identity theft.

If your card information was stolen online, who knows what else was. It’s important to be mindful. Use a credit monitoring company to track your credit report and help keep you safe.

Check your credit report.

Now you that set up credit monitoring, request your credit report so that you are able to review it for any accounts that may have been opened in your name that you didn’t set up or any unauthorized purchases.

With our personal information more readily available electronically, though it may be more convenient, it also poses a risk. Be vigilant and make sure that the sites you are visiting and purchasing from are legitimate and reputable sites. Keep an eye on your finances and you should be able to act accordingly if you were ever to get hacked.