How to Protect Your Account After Capital One Hack
Capital One reported Monday night that the hacker had gained access to over 100 million customer accounts and credit card applications. According to the press release , this violation included access to usernames, addresses, phone numbers, date of birth and email addresses – in addition to 140,000 social security numbers, 80,000 bank account numbers and one million social security numbers belonging to Canadian customers.
Although the hacker, a former Amazon Web Services technical engineer, was arrested on Monday, Capital One estimates that the hack in late March affected a total of 100 million US and six million Canadian customers.
If it does affect you, Capital One will notify customers via email, offering both free credit monitoring and privacy protection, so stay tuned for any urgent-sounding emails and be sure to sign up for their free services. If you haven’t received an email, it doesn’t hurt to contact the bank directly by phone for confirmation. You can also temporarily freeze any Capital One card just in case.
As CNN writes, you should also check your account, review any bank statements back in March, and continue to track it for any suspicious activity. If you want to be extra careful, you can also view your credit reports for any accounts created in your name.
Finally, be wary of any phone calls you receive from someone claiming to be your bank or lender; always hang up and use the number listed on your bank’s website.