Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel wants those whose information may have been compromised in data breaches to know what steps they can take to protect their data from scammers and identity thieves. Michigan consumers have faced a number of significant data breaches this year, including incidents involving McLaren Health Care, Change Healthcare, Ascension Healthcare, and AT&T.
“The number of data breaches and identity theft reports continues to rise every year,” Nessel said. “Scammers are on a mission to steal your personal information to commit fraud, so it’s important to take data breach notices seriously. My alert on data breaches explains the steps you can take to protect your information.”
The Department of Attorney General’s Data Breaches: What to do Next alert (www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection/protect-yourself/consumer-alerts/id-theft-telemarketing/data-breaches) provides consumers with useful information about what kind of information may be accessed during a data breach and what can be done to prevent identity theft. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also has consumer guidance available for creating strong passwords and securing accounts (https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/protect-your-personal-information-hackers-and-scammers).
You can protect yourself during a data breach by taking the following actions:
• Watch out for phishing emails.
• Strengthen or change your passwords.
• Do not retain unnecessary data or files.
“The number of data breaches and identity theft reports continues to rise every year,” Nessel said. “Scammers are on a mission to steal your personal information to commit fraud, so it’s important to take data breach notices seriously. My alert on data breaches explains the steps you can take to protect your information.”
The Department of Attorney General’s Data Breaches: What to do Next alert (www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection/protect-yourself/consumer-alerts/id-theft-telemarketing/data-breaches) provides consumers with useful information about what kind of information may be accessed during a data breach and what can be done to prevent identity theft. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission also has consumer guidance available for creating strong passwords and securing accounts (https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/protect-your-personal-information-hackers-and-scammers).
You can protect yourself during a data breach by taking the following actions:
• Watch out for phishing emails.
• Strengthen or change your passwords.
• Do not retain unnecessary data or files.
• Use multifactor authentication on devices and accounts.
• Review your credit report often. Take advantage of free weekly credit reports from each of the three main credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion by contacting the Annual Credit Report website.
To view all the holiday scam alerts, visit the Department of Attorney General’s website at www.michigan.gov/consumerprotection/scams/holiday-scams. To file a complaint with the Attorney General, or get additional information, contact:
Consumer Protection Team
P.O. Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909
517-335-7599
Fax: 517-241-3771
Toll-free: 877-765-8388
Online complaint form at https://secure.ag.state.mi.us/complaints/consumer.aspx
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