What to do if your personal information is exposed in a data breach

Change your password, check your credit card statements and set up fraud alerts

Illustration of a hooded figure on a red background running with a large sack, from which slips of paper featuring asterisks (symbolizing passwords or confidential information) are falling out
There has been a marked increase in data breaches, despite growing awareness around the need for cybersecurity
(Image credit: Rob Dobi / Getty Images)

It is no one's idea of a good day to receive an alert that your personal information may have been exposed in a data breach. Unfortunately, these breaches are not uncommon. Just a few weeks ago, there was "a massive data breach that compromised the Social Security numbers and other data of millions of Americans," including their names and addresses, said USA Today

While it may be tempting to shrug this kind of thing off, there actually are steps you can — and should — take in the event that your sensitive information is compromised. Making these moves now can help prevent further issues down the road.

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Becca Stanek, The Week US

Becca Stanek has worked as an editor and writer in the personal finance space since 2017. She previously served as a deputy editor and later a managing editor overseeing investing and savings content at LendingTree and as an editor at the financial startup SmartAsset, where she focused on retirement- and financial-adviser-related content. Before that, Becca was a staff writer at The Week, primarily contributing to Speed Reads.