Speaker, Author, Consultant, Fraud Examiner

Another day, another breach.

This time it is Capital One.

The news in a nutshell: the creditor was hacked and personal information was jeopardized.

Here is what Capital One says:

Based on analysis, over 100 million in the US and over 6 million in Canada are affected.

  • Those individuals and small businesses that applied for credit between 2005 and 2019 were most affected.
  • Information hacked includes: names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, birth dates, income, 140,000 social security numbers, 80,000 linked bank accounts, and credit bureau information.
  • They promised they are sending letters to those whose social security and bank account numbers are compromised. Thus far, I have not received a letter.

Let me take a moment to remind everyone that the only way to secure your credit is to lock it. I fall in the date range of applicants and card holders but since my credit has been locked since the Experian breach, I am not concerned.

However, I strongly suggest changing your Capital One password. Be sure to make it a strong password: at least 10 alphanumeric characters, upper and lower case letters, as well as symbols.

Also in the headlines this week – The lawsuit against Experian for their breach was settled.

AND, you too can join the millions and file a claim but you will not get $125 as originally stated. There has already been an overwhelming response in claims filed.

There are three options depending upon your level of impact:

  1. If your information was breached,
  2. If you spent time recovering from the breach,
  3. If you lost or spent money because of the breach.

If you were affected, opt for the free credit monitoring instead. Four years of free credit monitoring and identity protection from all three bureaus, then four more years of monitoring  from Equifax.

Step One simply asks if you want the free monitoring service or $125.

Step Two asks you to explain the time spent protecting yourself from the breach, when you did it, and how long you spent doing it.

Step Three asks if you lost any money or spent any money as a result of the breach. I strongly suggest you provide supporting documents if you make this claim.

Then you are given the option to receive the payment through check or gift card.

Be sure to print a copy and save it digitally as the claim number will be on the bottom of the page. 

$125.00 is not nearly enough payment for the hassle of the breach, or having to lock down your credit. If I were the hackers, I would just sit on the information for six years, until everyone becomes complacent again….which is why my credit will remain frozen. In the almost two years since I have frozen it, I have had no negative impact from freezing it and would completely recommend it to others.

Now back to Capital One.

Most of you know that I have four beautiful god-daughters. The oldest one was married in June and has a birthday today. I can’t think about Capital One without thinking of her Capital One commercial spots.

The story goes that she researched the audition detail, showed up for the audition with her mom’s prom dress and eyeglasses, AND got the job. In case you need more information to figure out which one she is, she does NOT have a beard but has red hair!

Take a little time to do research and freeze your credit

so these breaches do not cause unbelievable pain and suffering to your finances and credit!