Living Well Social media giant Facebook has been in the headlines ever since a data breach left more than 87 million records vulnerable.
And, as we mentioned last week, the company's shares continue to suffer from the bad press.
But there's a more recent – and even bigger – hack you haven't heard of...
In June, marketing firm Exactis revealed that around 340 million individual records were exposed in a data breach.
The information stolen contained phone numbers, home addresses, and e-mail addresses. Even more disturbing, it included information related to personal habits and someone's household, including the ages and genders of children.
Every few months, we hear about a new data breach. Someone stole our credit-card numbers... our drivers' license numbers... our addresses... names... Social Security numbers... passport information...
These hacks often involve the personal data of hundreds of millions of people.
Every time we hear another story, we get more and more numb to the news. And even if we do worry, most of us don't take any action.
Those crimes can cost you thousands and thousands of dollars in financial damage. You won't be able to get a loan for a car or house – you'll have collectors hounding you for the debt. Your credit will suffer and take years to recover.
Other than avoiding the Internet completely, there's not much you can do to entirely prevent hacks. But there are steps you can take to protect yourself in the event of a hacking...
First, as longtime readers know, make your passwords "strong and long." A strong password has a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols (the characters above the numbers on your keyboard) that are nearly random. And don't use the same password for more than one website. If your password from one website is hacked, and you've used that same password on other sites, it's easier for thieves to steal your information from multiple places.
Second, when you can, use "two-factor authentication." Two-factor authentication requires your password plus another piece of information – like a code sent to your e-mail or mobile device associated with your account – to log in to a website. I love using this feature.
Many companies – including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon – give you the option of using two-factor authentication, as do many banks, brokerage firms, and credit-card companies.
Of course, it's not just identity theft that keeps us up at night...
What if the institution managing the pension you're counting on vanishes? What if you outlive your savings? What if you simply don't have enough sacked away to retire?
How will you get by over the next 10, 20, or 30 years?
Retirement should be a time to relax and enjoy what you've worked so hard for during your lifetime. It's not the time to worry about bankruptcy filings or becoming another burden to your family.
That's why I wrote a report called "Income Revenge." I've sounded the alarm on organizations that don't have our interests at heart. You can't depend on them to save you in retirement – which means you can only depend on yourself.
I'll tell you exactly how to increase your income by getting back at the big guys... from Equifax to Wall Street to Big Pharma. It's time to take what's yours.
Don't just get even... get paid.
Learn more here. [optin_form id="73"]
What We're Reading...
- Something different: Feeling off your game? Drink some water.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement, Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team August 1, 2018