Turns out 1.1 Billion Identities Were Exposed to Theft in One Year (NBD, Right?)

Symantec Corporation’s most recent Internet Security Report is 77 pages — but here’s the scary truth:

• They report 1,209 breaches in recent years.
• 15 of those breaches exposed more than 10 million identities, deeming them “mega breaches.”
• The total number of “identities exposed” soared to 1.1 billion
• The average number of identities exposed in each breach were 927,000.

Do note, these numbers are from across the globe. However, the United States sits pretty (or not) at the top the list of the top 10 countries by number of identities stolen.

Have You Been a Victim of Identity Theft?

The best way to quickly check is to peek at your credit. You might know federal law entitles you to one free credit report per year.

But your annual report doesn’t include your actual credit scores, which are a nice, easy benchmark for figuring out if something’s wrong.

Most companies will charge you for this information which is why we like the free website Credit Sesame.

Once you create a free account, the first thing you’ll see is a user-friendly overview of your current credit situation, including a TransUnion score.

Even if you’re pretty sure you’re not a victim of identity theft, it’s worth checking out. I mean, it’s free, and it’s always good to know where you stand… 

It takes 90 seconds to sign up and see if your identity was stolen.