It's no surprise that data breaches have been in the news again lately. With the recent data breach at Heartland Payment Centers, several universities, and other business, as well as new surveys about the cost of data breaches, it's just not shocking to hear that data breaches rose to 656 breaches in 2008, up from 446 in 2007. That's a 47% increase in the number of data breaches in just one year.
The result of those data breaches is millions of personal records put at risk. And unfortunately, it's often well after the fact when a consumer learns their personal information was put at risk by a data breach. By that time, there's not much you can do other than watch your credit report and pray. Instead, you should learn to be proactive about protecting your identity. Monitoring your credit on a quarterly basis is a good way to start.
If you are monitoring your credit and nothing out of the ordinary appears, but you learn you've been put at risk by a data breach, you should take precautions. The way you respond to a data breach can determine whether you'll be victimized and how devastating the damages might be. So, be as proactive as you can. It's the best way to protect your identity.