From Capital One to Target, the Home Depot to TJ Maxx, criminals have stolen customers' credit card information—and there's no indication that the thefts will stop. Fortunately, there are a number of ways☂ to minimize the damage🎃.

Even if you haven’t yet been hacked, many of the seven moves described below can make your information less easy to find and less usable if you are caught up in a breach. They range from monitoring your accounts regularly to freezing your credit.

1. Get a Replacement Card

If you’ve been told that you’re part of a data breach, tell the company that you need a new card immediately. You’re not likely to ge�🐬�t any pushback from the already-embarrassed company. But if you do, don’t back down.

2. Check Your Account Online

After a breach, don’t wait for your stateme🌸nt to arrive before you check it—monitor your account regularly onli🦩ne. Keep checking daily for at least 30 days, even after you get a new card. If you find a suspicious charge, dispute it immediately.

3. Freeze Your Credit

If you are caught up in a data breach, call each of the three main credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) and request that your 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit report be frozen. Freezing means that no one will be able to access your credit report without your approval. Creditors likely won’t approve an application without having access to your credit rep♐ort.

4. Place a Fraud Alert

An alternative—and less drastic—step to freezing your credit is to place a fraud alert on your credit profile with the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit bureaus. A fraud alert can protect your credit history from unauthorized access for one year, after which it can be renewed. A fraud alert won’t completely lock down your credit reports the way that a credit freeze does, but it does require creditors and lenders to take the extra step of verifying your identity before authorizing new lines of credit in your name.

5. Order Your Credit Reports

By law, you get one free credit report per year from each credit reporting company. Even if you haven’t yet been targeted, be proactive and take a look at your free reports. Ideally, you can order one every four months by staggering tဣhe requests across the three main credit report💖ing agencies, so you can be better covered across the entire year.

6. Watch for Phishing Scams

Just because thieves have your credit card number doesn’t mean they also have its expiration date and the three- or four-digit 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:card 💙verꦗification value (CVV) number. Beware of phishing, a scam where the thief might send an email or call in an attempt to obtain the rest of the information.

Don’t give your information to anybody unless you call the company directly. If somebody leaves a message, go to the company’s website and find a contact number to make sure it matches what the person in the message provided. For even more security, call the company directly and mak🦩e sure that the person who called you is legitimate.

7. Be Smart About Passwords

Simply employing all the password rules won’t prevent a breach, but since you don’t know exactly what information thieves are looking for, it can’t hurt. Use strong passwords, and change them ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚfrequently.

You may also want to take advantage of additional digital security measures such as two-factor authentication. Newer types of authentication, such as Face ID and Touch ID, are slowly replacing passwords as a legitim🦄ate means to grant a person access to sensitive financial information.

The Bottom Line

Even if you haven’t been a victim of a credit card breach, it's important to act proactively to make yourself less vulnerable. If you have, don’t panic. It’s going to take time to clear up everything, but you won’t pay for any charges that weren’t yours. Call your credit card company, tell them about any incorrect charges, and be patient as they work to clear them from your account. In the meantime, continue monitoring your credit report and credit card bills for further signs of unauthorized activity.