TCRS: What To Do When Your Personal Information Is Part Of A Security Breach?
During the summer of 2023, the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS), notified thousands of state retirees that their names and social security numbers were compromised. These security breaches happen all too often these days making all of us vulnerable. But in the case where you know your information was compromised, what should you do?
Prevention is key. We want to avoid someone using our identity for fraudulent purposes before it happens.
- Change your password for the site used to access the organization’s benefits where your benefits were compromised. (If that same password is used for other sites, change it there too.)
- Freeze your credit. By freezing your credit, no one, not even yourself, can establish a new credit line. Someone with your information could potentially take out a mortgage, open a credit card, or start a line of credit at a department store. Freezing your credit prevents this from happening before it starts. You should take this step with all three credit bureaus and know that if you do need to access your credit you will have to un-freeze it. Below is the contact information for each bureau:
| Credit Bureau | Online | By Phone |
| Experian | https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html | 888-397-3742 |
| Equifax | https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/ | 888-298-0045 |
| TransUnion | https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze | 888-916-8800 |
- Utilize credit monitoring services – TCRS has extended to its members free credit and identity monitoring services in light of the security breach. These services let you know when something happens in your name and monitor sources beyond your credit profile. This extra set of eyes are valuable at identifying fraudsters before they can do significant damage.
- Be vigilant. Our information is stored in many places and easily fall into the wrong hands. While there are these preventative steps to be taken, we can never fully eliminate the risk. Being vigilant means keeping an eye on your financial account statement and activity, guarding your mail and personal documents, and checking things out when something doesn’t seem right.
In my experience, Identity Theft doesn’t often result in significant financial loss, but it can be a significant source of stress and require a great amount of time to repair.
As with any real risk, determine what prudent steps can be taken, act on those steps, and go live your life!
Any opinions are those of Landon Vick and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete; it is not a statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and it does not constitute a recommendation. Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional. Be sure to contact a qualified professional regarding your particular situation before making any investment or withdrawal decisions.
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