What should I do? I got an alert from my Discover card that my SS number was found on the dark web. What steps should I take now?
lol
Everyone’s social is already out there, it’s just a matter if someone decides to act maliciously.
Freeze (not lock) all of your credit reports and regularly check your reports.
Zoren said:
lol
Everyone’s social is already out there, it’s just a matter if someone decides to act maliciously.
Freeze (not lock) all of your credit reports and regularly check your reports.
Yes that’s why I’m not sure if I should freeze or lock my accounts.
@John
Freeze.
Lock is not the same.
All credit bureaus provide a way to freeze your report for FREE.
@John
Freeze. Always free by law and easy and fast to thaw as needed.
Zoren said:
lol
Everyone’s social is already out there, it’s just a matter if someone decides to act maliciously.
Freeze (not lock) all of your credit reports and regularly check your reports.
Why not lock when that can be done for free too?
@Masitsa
Looks like the Experian credit lock is only a paid service, while the other two are free. But you do have to enroll in a service, even if it is free for two of the three credit bureaus, and those services tend to nag free customers to upgrade.
So not a huge downside, but it’s there, and it’s not really any better than a freeze anyway, which is required by law. Those free credit locks can theoretically have fees added to them at any time.
@Spence
Not true. You can freeze with Experian, but they trick you into thinking you must pay for this. Freeze or Unfreeze Your Credit File for Free - Experian
@Clare
I’m not paying for any of the three. But yes, they do try to hide it.
@Clare
They were talking about “credit lock” not “credit freeze”
Vivian said:
@Clare
They were talking about “credit lock” not “credit freeze”
TIL they are practically but not exactly the same.
Pretty much everyone’s SSNs have been leaked in some way at this point. Freeze all three of your credit bureau reports so you’re not a victim of identity fraud, and monitor those reports every once in a while to ensure accuracy. Not much more you can do in this age of massive online data leaks except be vigilant and recognize that this is a perpetual risk.
Welcome to the darkweb club… we’ve been expecting you.
Just make sure your credit reports stay frozen and only temporarily lift when applying for credit.
Also, make sure your main email is secure… I have no password on my main email so there is nothing to hack.
The dark web has my email and alleged password, also my social security, address information that’s over 20 years old, and old banking routing/account number also like 20 years old that’s linked to one of those college debit card student accounts.
These come up every couple of months or so and it’s always the same old info recirculating… at most I’ve been affected by more spam email because my email is out there.
@Axelle
Haha that made me laugh 
Question though, what do you mean you have no password on your main email? I know many of my passwords were found to be on dark web or compromised as they say but I’m sure how to handle email and password breach other than changing them or making new email and associating my accounts to them.
@John
The thing is, if you have a primary email that you use and it gets hacked, they have access to a lot of information. And people tend to use one password for multiple sites.
If you use something like a Microsoft domain for email, like outlook.com or hotmail or msn, you can actually delete the password from your account and use alternate login methods like Windows Hello, a security device, or authenticator app.
@Axelle
Yes, and my Yahoo email has not had a password since forever and it requires a 2FA just to log in. They keep asking me if I want to set up a password and I decline. I only wish there was a “Hell no, that’s a stupid idea” option.
I froze my credit reports already for me and my wife.
DolphGabbana said:
I froze my credit reports already for me and my wife.
Does it affect you applying for credit cards or using them?
DolphGabbana said:
I froze my credit reports already for me and my wife.
Does it affect you applying for credit cards or using them?
You have to unfreeze your credit when applying for anything that will do a credit check. Then you refreeze it.
@abraham
They offer a “thaw” as well. This will automatically freeze it again after a certain period.