What is an Experian dark web scan?
Many readers have called to ask about the credit bureau Experian’s dark web scan ads. They’ve asked if it’s a good idea to get the free scan. The scan promises to survey the dark web — a network of millions of sites and pages on the internet that cannot be found during a normal search. It is known as a place for illegal activity where hackers buy, sell and trade information there, including our personal information they have somehow been able to collect.
According to Experian, the scan can look back to 2006. It includes thousands of website and data points including chat rooms, crawling, scraping and forum extraction. The ad allows for one free scan but only includes certain information like passwords, phone numbers and Social Security numbers. If you would like to get a more thorough scan, there’s a fee.
If you would like to sign up for the dark web scan you can go to Experian’s website at experian.com/consumer-products/free-dark-web-email-scan.html. You will be asked to input basic information about yourself in order to create an account. Then you can follow the instructions to run the scan once your identity has been verified.
Once you run the scan, a report will be generated that will tell you if your email, phone number or Social Security number were compromised. The report can show you where your information was stolen and preferred recommendations to protect yourself. But in reality, the ads are designed to get you to sign up for future services and scans with Experian.
You should know that when you sign up for the scan you will also be signing up for credit monitoring alerts and a free credit report from Experian. And after your free scan Experian says that for $9.99 a month it has a service that will scan the dark web for you monthly.
You can choose to do this scan but you can also freeze your credit as I’ve mentioned in past columns. Freezing your credit is a good way to protect yourself from identity theft and is a free service. The one take away from the Experian dark web scan that might be of interest is to see where your information might have been compromised.
Bottom line: It appears that the best way to protect yourself is to freeze your credit, change your passwords often and check your online accounts frequently.
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Is it time to change your locks?
With all the focus on our digital security, it is sometimes hard to remember that we should keep our physical security in check as well. I recently moved and decided to have a locksmith rekey all my locks. Turns out the lock on the door going from my garage to laundry room was still set with the master lock from the builder.
Since the home was not brand new, that means the previous owner had not had the locks rekeyed after purchasing the home from the builder. It’s a good idea to change your locks and the code on your garage door after you move into a new place or purchase a home from a builder so you make sure you can control who gains access to your home.
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Another Medicare Scam
Scammers are always looking for new angles to get victims to provide personal information. A Coeur d’Alene reader called to warn us to watch out for crooks telling Medicare recipients that their new Medicare card has an error and needs to be replaced. If there is something wrong with your Medicare account, you will receive a letter in the mail informing you of any issues.
Don’t ever provide personal information to an unexpected caller even if the call appears to come from the Social Security Administration. This is because it is likely that the scammers have spoofed the number to trick you into thinking the call is legitimate.
If you get one of these calls, hang up and call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov/fraud to report it.
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Watch out for ‘miracle’ texts
Crooks are getting savvier in getting text recipients to clink on links. The text message might say: This blessing is all yours. Use it to pay bills. The scammer makes it sound like clicking on the link will somehow make money appear in your account. As enticing as this text might be, don’t fall for it or click on the link.
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If you have encountered a consumer issue that you have questions about or think our readers should know about, email terridickersonadvocate@gmail.com or call me at 208-274-4458.