A massive data hack has impacted 106 million Capital One customers — nearly a third of all Americans.
If you’re a Capital One customer, there’s a good chance you were among those affected, said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with Wallethub.
But it’s not too late to protect yourself.
“Sign up for 24/7 credit monitoring. That way you’ll find out immediately if someone ever tries to open an account in your name,” she said.
The bank has launched a website to help you figure out if you were impacted, and says individuals affected will be notified through “a variety of channels.”
There are steps you yourself can take as well to ensure your information is safe in the future. Setting up two-step authentication for logging into financial websites is one additional layer of protection, for instance.
And because there may be an uptick in unsolicited calls demanding information, Gonzalez advises that you never respond to such suspicious requests.
“It is easier to get our information, because there is so much information out there now,” she said. “We have to be prepared for that.”
