Verify If You Were Impacted
Please be vigilant in reviewing your account statements and credit reports, and immediately report any unauthorized activity to the appropriate financial institutions. We also recommend monitoring personal information and visiting the Federal Trade Commission’s website, www.ftc.gov/idtheft, to obtain information about steps you can take to better protect against identity theft, as well as information about fraud alerts and security freezes.
Here are some additional steps to take to protect yourself:
- Check your credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — for free — by visiting annualcreditreport.com. Accounts or activity that you don’t recognize could indicate identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov to find out what to do.
- Consider placing a credit freeze on your files. A credit freeze makes it harder for someone to open a new account in your name. Keep in mind that a credit freeze won’t prevent a thief from making charges to your existing accounts.
- Monitor your existing credit card and bank accounts closely for charges you don’t recognize.
- If you decide against a credit freeze, consider placing a fraud alert on your files. A fraud alert warns creditors that you may be an identity theft victim and that they should verify that anyone seeking credit in your name really is you.
- File your taxes early — as soon as you have the tax information you need, before a scammer can. Tax identity theft happens when someone uses your Social Security number to get a tax refund or a job. Respond right away to letters from the IRS.
How We Can Help You
Columbia Bank offers several security features to help keep your information secure.
- Set up Account Alerts in Columbia Connect so that you’re notified of any activity on your account, as well as any suspicious card activity. You can monitor your transactions using Columbia Connect through any desktop or mobile device and report any suspicious activity as soon as it’s detected.
- Visit our Personal Identify Theft Prevention page for simple steps on how to protect your identity.
- Safeguard your credit cards through the steps provided on our Online Credit Card Fraud page.
Learn more about the breach from the Federal Trade Commission and how to protect yourself.