What to do after your data appears in a breach

A breach and a broker listing are not the same problem. Removal requests do not help with breached data, because the data is already copied and circulating. What helps is invalidating what was stolen.

Difficulty

✓Easy

Time

2 hours

Cost

Free

Steps

6

1. 01Find out what was actually exposedPasswords, payment details, Social Security number and security-question answers each require different responses. Check Have I Been Pwned for the specifics.
2. 02Change the password, and every reuse of itIf you used that password anywhere else, those accounts are compromised too. This is the single most urgent step.
3. 03Freeze your credit if identifiers were exposedFree at all three bureaus. If a Social Security number was in the breach, do this today.
4. 04Change security-question answers everywhereThese cannot be reset like a password, and breached answers stay valid indefinitely. Treat them as passwords and store them in a manager.
5. 05Expect targeted phishingBreach data makes convincing scripts. Expect calls and emails that quote real details about you, and verify independently before acting on anything.
6. 06Understand what removal can and cannot do hereNobody can remove breached data from circulation — it is copied and traded. What removal addresses is the separate, ongoing commercial publication of your current address and phone number.