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3 On Your Side: Protecting Personal Information

By Jim Donovan

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Between the recent celebrity photo hack and news of another major retailer with a data breach, consumers may be wondering if their personal information is safe anywhere.  So 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan has some reminders so that you can protect your data.

A hack targeting celebrity photos stored in the cloud.  Another targeting the payment systems of retailer Home Depot, unnoticed for five months.  Headlines like these can make consumers uneasy about trusting third parties with personal data, even though online transactions and interactions have become a way of life.

By now most consumers have heard the warnings.  Create strong passwords. Change them periodically and don't use the same one across all online accounts.  But Kiplinger's Personal Finance recommends taking the extra steps.  For example, checking cloud settings on multiple mobile devices, to make sure what's private, can't easily go public.

Also, experts say, consumers don't always have to hand over information when asked, especially a Social Security Number.   Cameron Huddleston with Kiplinger's says, "If you're asked for it, ask if it's necessary.  But what you can do actually, is ask your financial institution to put a note on your account that you do not want to use your social security number as verification."

Online shoppers can also take the extra precaution of checking out as a guest, rather than storing billing information on a retailer's website.   That way if that site is hacked, all of your personal information - your credit card, your address, and your telephone numbers - aren't necessarily being stored there, so scam artists are less likely to get access to it.

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