In July, the University of North Carolina researcher was unable to access information on the server containing terms a mammography study funded by the federal government. This information includes records of a total of 236,000 women and social security numbers for about 163,000 of these women. An investigation revealed that the system had been hacked as long ago as 2007. Last Friday, UNC began notifying 163,000 women whose social security numbers were exposed. The delay occurred because of the need to study the extent of the compromise and determine which participants were affected.
Imagine being told that hackers gained access to your social security number for the last two years. Two years is more than enough time for an identity thief to open new credit accounts in your name, max them with the costs, and move on to the next victim. Meanwhile, unless you check your credit report regularly or subscribe to a protection service against identity theft, you may be blissfully unaware of the debt that "you" have accumulated. At least until you are denied a loan for a new house or car, or collection agents start banging on your door. It is important that victims of violations of data reported in due time, but sometimes, as in this case the violation are not discovered until years later. The only way to be immediately informed of the new lines, potentially fraudulent credit in your name is to invest in credit monitoring or protection against identity theft. A credit report monitoring service to alert you every chance of your credit report, which will allow you to take action in response to suspicious activity. A protection service against identity theft go beyond this basic level of protection to help prevent, detect and, if necessary, resolve cases of identity theft.
For more, read our review and comparative tables for the credit report protection services against identity theft and monitoring.