Massive breach could compromise millions

Three million people need to change their passwords pronto after a big data breach…are you one of them?

It seems not a day goes by that there’s not news of another breach. Some are more serious than others. Adobe, the big Internet software house, has announced they’ve been hit hard by hackers who compromised the credit and debit card info of nearly 2.9 million customers.

If you’re a customer who has been impacted, you’ll probably get a letter in your mailbox over the next couple weeks. Adobe says they’re also sending notices to your credit and debit account issuers.

For you as an individual, credit card breach is no big deal. You just dispute any fraudulent charges if they show up. It’s a pretty easy process.

However, debit card breach can be ugly. Crooks can empty your account and then you have to fight with your bank to get your own money back.

But Adobe is saying since customers’ passwords were also compromised, you should consider changing your password on other sites if it’s the same one you used for Adobe. Meanwhile, if you’re concerned about crooks opening new lines of credit in your name without you knowing, shut them down cold with a credit freeze.

So if you’re impacted, be sure you take the necessary action to protect yourself. Because this massive breach could compromise millions.

For further reading:

• The 10 most common passwords
• Protect your passwords for free
• Credit freeze and thaw guide