Comcast Data breach warning... (2019)

TIDE-HSV

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Last night, my Comcast account was hacked. Suddenly, a box popped up confirming my password change. When I tried to log in, I got the "incorrect password" error message. However, Comcast has a workaround and I had them text me a numeric code and recovered my account. I'm not sure I'm our of the woods, though, because something seems to be interfering with my AV programs. We did have a Capital One card during the period covered by the data breach. The advice which is being passed out currently is that, if you've had one, change passwords on sensitive sites like banking, etc...
 
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TIDE-HSV

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I had a Capitol One card back in the 90's and decided to close it out since I had so many others decided to thin the herd a bit.

Stay safe everyone!
We only had one for a couple of years, but it was within the data breach years. I've frozen my credit with Transunion and Equifax, but, as most do, had problems with Experian. I'll have to mail in a bundle of docs to prove who I am...
 

BamaNation

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Probably a good time for this info that I share with my students and family:



  1. FIRST, make sure you have UNIQUE AND SECURE passwords for all of your online financial accounts!
    • Never (never, never, never, never, never, ever…) use the same password on multiple online accounts. N-E-V-E-R.
    • Get a Password Manager (1password, etc) to help you manage this.
    • A secure password is one you could never remember!
    • Turn on Two-Factor Authentication everywhere possible. TwoFactorAuth.org is a website that keeps a running list of websites (and financial institutions) that use two-factor authentication.
  2. SECOND, setup a creditkarma.com account.
    • This allows you to monitor your credit and score.
    • You must do this before freezing your credit bureau accounts.
  3. THIRD, freeze your credit bureau accounts (see details at bottom for each bureau).
    • You’ll want to also have your spouse & kids accounts frozen, too.
    • Each person will have a separate account.
    • NOTE: Freezing accounts doesn’t stop you from having or using credit or credit cards. It stops the ability of someone creating a new account in your name or accessing your credit information without your permission. You can temporarily unfreeze the account if you need to get a new loan, open a credit or bank account, etc. This is all in the details at clark.com below.
  4. Under 30 years old?? If you’re a millennial, you’ll want to read this, as well: http://clark.com/personal-finance-c...-worried-and-how-they-can-protect-themselves/
Sure, it will be an extra pain when applying for mortgages, loans, credit cards, bank accounts, etc. but you can unfreeze online or by phone pretty easily and protects against anyone who doesn’t have your pin # from opening any accounts in your name.
Here are some pretty good resources stepping you through exactly what to do ( clark.com is Clark Howard’s site ):

CREDIT BUREAUS
Here are the links & contact info where you can submit for a credit freeze (but only AFTER setting up your creditkarma.com account) with each of the four Credit Bureaus.
Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 / 1-800-349-9960

Experian: 1-888-397-3742

TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872

Innovis: 1-800-540-250

Social Engineering Attacks: Be warned cyber attackers will take advantage of breach/hack incidents and launch millions of phishing emails, phone calls or text messages trying to fool people. DO NOT click on any links in any emails even those that look like they’re coming from legit sources.
 
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TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
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Huntsville, AL,USA
Probably a good time for this info that I share with my students and family:



  1. FIRST, make sure you have UNIQUE AND SECURE passwords for all of your online financial accounts!
    • Never (never, never, never, never, never, ever…) use the same password on multiple online accounts. N-E-V-E-R.
    • Get a Password Manager (1password, etc) to help you manage this.
    • A secure password is one you could never remember!
    • Turn on Two-Factor Authentication everywhere possible. TwoFactorAuth.org is a website that keeps a running list of websites (and financial institutions) that use two-factor authentication.
  2. SECOND, setup a creditkarma.com account.
    • This allows you to monitor your credit and score.
    • You must do this before freezing your credit bureau accounts.
  3. THIRD, freeze your credit bureau accounts (see details at bottom for each bureau).
    • You’ll want to also have your spouse & kids accounts frozen, too.
    • Each person will have a separate account.
    • NOTE: Freezing accounts doesn’t stop you from having or using credit or credit cards. It stops the ability of someone creating a new account in your name or accessing your credit information without your permission. You can temporarily unfreeze the account if you need to get a new loan, open a credit or bank account, etc. This is all in the details at clark.com below.
  4. Under 30 years old?? If you’re a millennial, you’ll want to read this, as well: http://clark.com/personal-finance-c...-worried-and-how-they-can-protect-themselves/
Sure, it will be an extra pain when applying for mortgages, loans, credit cards, bank accounts, etc. but you can unfreeze online or by phone pretty easily and protects against anyone who doesn’t have your pin # from opening any accounts in your name.
Here are some pretty good resources stepping you through exactly what to do ( clark.com is Clark Howard’s site ):

CREDIT BUREAUS
Here are the links & contact info where you can submit for a credit freeze (but only AFTER setting up your creditkarma.com account) with each of the four Credit Bureaus.
Equifax: 1-800-685-1111 / 1-800-349-9960

Experian: 1-888-397-3742

TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872

Innovis: 1-800-540-250

Social Engineering Attacks: Be warned cyber attackers will take advantage of breach/hack incidents and launch millions of phishing emails, phone calls or text messages trying to fool people. DO NOT click on any links in any emails even those that look like they’re coming from legit sources.
I've frozen the big three but not Innovis yet. There's yet a fifth one, according to some, "ChexSystems." I intend to do the latter two today. In addition to the Comcast episode, I've also had one phish attempt, which was obviously based on stolen data. The data thieves really jumped on this one in a hurry. Be forewarned, as I said above, that you probably will end up doing Experian by snail mail, so it's slow. This makes it wise to jump on it right now, if you had a Capital One card any time between 2005 and the present. We barely fit in the window and only had the card for a couple of years because it was tied to Vail and we had the condo, so it was convenient. So, in our case, it's old data indeed, but still useful to the thieves...
 

DzynKingRTR

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I've frozen the big three but not Innovis yet. There's yet a fifth one, according to some, "ChexSystems." I intend to do the latter two today. In addition to the Comcast episode, I've also had one phish attempt, which was obviously based on stolen data. The data thieves really jumped on this one in a hurry. Be forewarned, as I said above, that you probably will end up doing Experian by snail mail, so it's slow. This makes it wise to jump on it right now, if you had a Capital One card any time between 2005 and the present. We barely fit in the window and only had the card for a couple of years because it was tied to Vail and we had the condo, so it was convenient. So, in our case, it's old data indeed, but still useful to the thieves...
I have been frozen since the data breech. I have had my Netflix account compromised not too long ago. I have been better about my passwords, but I need to change them all again probably.
 

TIDE-HSV

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I have been frozen since the data breech. I have had my Netflix account compromised not too long ago. I have been better about my passwords, but I need to change them all again probably.
It's a good idea after any major breach, although people holding that card are most at risk. Netflix or anything similar, where you have a credit card on record, it a risk. I had one friend have Netflix compromised since the breach, so I changed that password...
 

TIDE-HSV

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Oct 13, 1999
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Update - my wife was able, with the third try, to get frozen with Experian. However, even with a changed browser, I was still rejected for the fourth time...
 

DzynKingRTR

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Dec 17, 2003
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With me trying to buy a house this suddenly popped into my head. Mine is still frozen. I guess I should unfreeze before talking to a lender or should I unfreeze when I actually try for the loan?
 

4Q Basket Case

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With me trying to buy a house this suddenly popped into my head. Mine is still frozen. I guess I should unfreeze before talking to a lender or should I unfreeze when I actually try for the loan?
I’ve been in this exact situation. Long story short, the Basket Case household has had a total block on our credit information for 10+ years. No credit report for any reason unless we un-block it. We don’t un-block.

Let the lender know the story, and ask when they’ll pull your credit. Un-freeze all three (TransUnion, Experian and Equifax) before business hours that morning. That afternoon, call your lender to be sure they have what they need. Once they do, re-freeze all three immediately.

This is not at all uncommon, and the lender should be familar with the drill. If they’re not, they’re morons. Stupid tends to manifest itself on multiple fronts, so if something this basic is a problem for them, there will likely be unrelated problems elsewhere in the process. If that’s the case, I’d also suggest having a backup lender just in case.
 

BamaNation

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If you go through a mortgage broker you may need to do all 3. If not, ask lender which they will pull. When we went through the process a few months ago, we temporarily unfroze all 3 for 48 hours, I think and maybe one up to 7 days. Just login and answer the security questions to temp unfreeze and set for the # days. Do not remove the freeze just do a temp temp unfreeze. Follow 4Qs advice above to re-freeze after lender has what they need.
 
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4Q Basket Case

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I sorta lust after Jennifer Gardner. My answer to "what's in your wallet?" is "not much"
Mrs. Basket Case and I were in Venice a few years ago, and crossed paths with Jennifer Garner at the Rialto Bridge. She was coming down the steps, two kids in tow, wearing traditional (i.e., loose-fitting) gym clothes, and as Mrs. Basket Case would say, ”not a stitch of make-up.”

I understand her financial means. But in that moment, she was a suburban soccer mom on vacation.

She was still cute as a litter of kittens.
 

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