Was Your Account Hacked? How to Find Out

Secure Way For Your Account

News of credit card hacks and other data breaches have made headlines on an almost daily basis lately. With so many attacks at major national chains, from Target to Neiman Marcus to Michaels, affecting millions of customers, it's very possible that your credit card has been compromised.

The FBI has said that more hacks are likely to surface, due in part to the accessibility of malware as well as the potential profit.

You could, of course, simply eschew modern technology and only use cash, but for many, that's not an option. So what should you do if you are worried that your credit card might have been compromised, and how do you keep yourself safe going forward?

1.	Check your statement.
	Automatic billing can ease concerns about missing a payment, but not checking on transactions can mean spotting a breach only after thousands of dollars have been stolen. Make a point of reviewing your transaction history online regularly – up to several times a week, if you can – and if you have a debit card, consider changing the PIN.

2.

Call your credit card company and your bank.

If you notice anything amiss in your card activity, call the credit card company and the issuing bank to alert them. If you have a debit card, this is especially important since debit cards are a direct line into your bank account and are treated differently under consumer fraud protection laws that credit cards are. Neil Rubenking, PCMag's lead analyst for security, said that one of his wife's friends used a debit card at Target, "and the bad guys emptied her bank account." With debit, it's not just a matter of having a charge removed from your statement, but waiting for money to be returned to your account.

3.	Set up fraud monitoring.
	Use a service such as LifeLock to keep tabs on any suspicious activity on your credit cards and for possible identity theft. Stores are also offering free credit monitoring to affected customers, though as PCMag's Fahmida Rashid pointed out, "credit monitoring just tells you that an account was created. You should also be putting freezes on your account so that new accounts can't be created."

4.	Check your credit report.
	You can get your credit report for free once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com. There are actually three reporting agencies–Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union–so you can get one report from each, four months apart, to make sure issues don't crop up further down the line.

5.	Stay informed.
	If your bank is on the ball, they might call you to check up on irregular purchases. Going forward, it's probably worth giving your business to banks with strong fraud protection, or asking your existing bank about their fraud detection policies.

6.	Get organized about your personal finances.
	The more organized you are, the more aware you are of your accounts and the better prepared you are if your information is compromised.