The man allegedly behind the greatest cybercrime in history has been arrested, but for the more than 130 million men and women whose accounts may have been compromised, this story is just beginning.
Your credit card, in the line of fire -- sort of
Three men have been accused of hacking into the customer databases of 7-Eleven, Heartland Payment Systems
The accused include Albert Gonzalez of Miami, a former informant for the Secret Service, who is suspected of orchestrating the operations. Authorities also suspect he's behind a data breach that cost TJ Maxx parent TJX Companies
Interestingly, the grand jury indictment against Gonzalez and his two accused Russian compadres alleges that they directly targeted exactly zero consumers. That's right; zero. Instead, their spree -- dubbed "operation get rich or die tryin" by the men, according to court documents -- allegedly targeted Fortune 500 firms.
And that should scare the beejeezus out of you.
Why? Millions of cardholders like you and me couldn't have done anything more to protect our electronic records or credit accounts. None of us were in control, and we still aren't.
So in the wake of this bust and its obvious implications --- that (a) none of us are safe, and (b) that banks such as Citigroup
Here are three ways to deter an identity thief.
1. Use a free credit reporting service
Credit reports, while dense, are by far the best way to see who is asking about you and what accounts the major credit bureaus think you have. All citizens have the right to a free report once annually.
More diligent consumers can also use credit-monitoring services. These services are designed to kick off alerts when new information about you is captured by the bureaus, and can help with the rapid response in the event that a corporate breach leads an identity thief to your digital door.
2. Track your transactions digitally, and consistently
Whether or not you choose Mint.com, Quicken, or some other system to track your financial accounts, do track them. I'd advise daily if you can, weekly if you must, but at least once a month. Each gap in your record-keeping is a hole that an enterprising thief can exploit, charging away on your cards as you bask in the horrible bliss of not knowing anything about how much you have.
3. Have your creditors' key information in an emergency numbers file
There's good reason to keep a comprehensive record of your card account data while on vacation. Suppose your wallet is stolen; fail to replace your cards in a timely fashion, and you might also fail to get home. But is it ever bad practice to have an emergency file packed with key information socked away somewhere safe? Wallets can get stolen at home, too.
The Foolish bottom line
There's little we can do to stop hackers from accessing the information vendors have about us. Just ask the 130 million or so who've had their credit data put at risk.
Fortunately, the battle isn't won or lost at the corporate level, and data can only get an ID thief so far. To really succeed, they need lazy consumers who don't monitor their accounts. They need ignorance.
Don't give it to them.
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