University of Maryland to provide free credit monitoring for victims of … – Herald

Cybersecurity

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Here are some tips from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office on how to detect if you are a victim of a computer security breach and how to protect yourself:

Check for signs of identity theft, including:

• Bank or credit card statements never arriving in the mail.
• Notices of new accounts opened that you don’t recognize, or accounts on your credit card that you didn’t open.
• Calls from collection agencies demanding payment for accounts you never opened or purchases you never made.
• Charges on your credit card bill that you didn’t make.
• Denial of credit or less favorable credit terms such as a high interest rate.
• Warrants for a crime committed in your name.

Steps to take if you are affected by a security breach:

• Place a fraud alert; call one of the three credit bureaus.
• Monitor your credit report.
• Close any affected accounts; ask for new cards with new numbers, and place red flags on your bank account.
• Freeze your credit reports.
• Call the state Attorney General’s Office ID Theft Unit at 410-576-6491.

Related Videos

At least one University of Maryland student said he was not overly concerned about a computer breach earlier this week that compromised more than 300,000 college records, but local cybersecurity experts say there can be serious ramifications from such an attack.

Matt South of Hagerstown, who is a junior at the University of Maryland, said he received an email from the university Wednesday night about the cyberattack.

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Saturday, February 22, 2014 7:00 am.