𝐔𝐡 𝐨𝐡 — 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝! 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟏: 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞

First, determine the damage. Unfortunately, one hacked password can be the gateway to multiple hacked accounts and even identity theft. Review your credit card and checking account statements for suspicious activity and try accessing your email, social media accounts and mobile devices to see if they’ve been hacked.

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟐: 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬

Once you know which accounts and devices have been hacked, change the passwords and PINs on them. For an added measure of protection, it’s a good idea to change the passwords on all your accounts that may hold sensitive information. Remember to choose strong, unique passwords for every account.

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟑: 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭

Dispute any fraudulent charges on your compromised account(s). If necessary, have the account(s) locked, or even removed.

Next, place a fraud alert on your credit reports. This serves as a red flag to potential lenders and creditors. Also, consider a credit freeze, which blocks potential lenders from accessing your credit report. This makes it impossible for the hacker to open new credit in your name.

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟒: 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

You can alert the FTC of a possible or confirmed identity theft at identitytheft.gov . You’ll also find a detailed recovery plan on the site to help you repair your credit and reclaim your identity.

Hacking is usually done remotely, but it’s still a good idea to let your local law enforcement agencies know about the breach.

Also, if you haven’t already done so, don’t forget to let MembersAlliance CU know what’s happened! If you’ve been hacked, give us a call at to see how we can help.

𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝟓: 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

It’s important to keep a close eye on your accounts for the next month. Watch for suspicious activity on all accounts. If you spot any, be sure to let the account holders know and to follow the steps above.

If you’ve opted to go with a credit freeze, it will generally lapse after 90 days. If your accounts are determined to be safe now, consider opening new credit to jump-start the recovery of your credit health.