Credit bureau Equifax made a public announcement on September 7, 2017, disclosing that its servers had been hacked. The personal information of 143 million Americans was compromised. The cyberattacks occurred between May and July of that year and included sensitive details like social security numbers, names, and addresses.

Identity theft is prevalent, and the recent Equifax breach will likely worsen it. However, you can take steps to protect your financial information. These basic measures can help you keep your data secure.

Note: If you’re already a victim of identity theft, proceed to Step 8 before following the other steps.

Step 1: Check Credit Report Regularly

One of the first steps in protecting your identity is regularly checking your credit report to ensure it has not been tampered with. Under US law, the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — must provide a copy of your credit report for free once per year. You can access your free credit reports by visiting annualcreditreport.com.

Rather than checking all three credit reports simultaneously, checking one every four months is best to ensure you only go an entire year after reviewing your credit report. For example, you could check Experian in January, Equifax in May, and TransUnion in September each year. If you find any suspicious activity or errors, file a dispute with the credit-reporting bureau immediately.

Step 2: Sign Up for Free Credit Monitoring

Credit monitoring is a way to track credit report issues in real-time rather than relying on your annual credit report to find problems after the fact. While many companies charge for this service, several offer free credit monitoring.

Credit Karma is one of the most popular companies offering free credit monitoring. It also gives you free access to your credit report and credit score. Other options include Credit Sesame and free credit monitoring alerts from password management company LastPass. Personal finance software Mint.com has also begun offering a free credit monitoring service.

Free credit monitoring sends you an alert each time activity occurs on your credit report, such as applying for a credit account, opening a credit account, or paying off a credit account. If you receive an alert for something you didn’t do yourself, you know it is time to react to a potential problem.

Step 3: Keep Personal Information off Social Networks

Social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are common targets for hackers seeking sensitive information like your birthday, mother’s maiden name, Social Security number, phone number, or address. Keeping this type of sensitive information off social networks may help you save a bad guy at bay.

Step 4: Use Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your online accounts, requiring you to enter a username, password, and randomly generated code that changes about every 30 seconds. While this technology has long been used for high-value business bank accounts, many online financial services also require two-factor authentication for personal accounts.

Google Authenticator is a free app that generates a six-digit code you must enter each time you log into your Google account. This app is available for Android and iOS devices and can secure other apps like Dropbox, LastPass, Amazon Web Services, and Stripe.

While other authentication apps are available, only some have the support and adoption of Google’s app. If your email account does not support two-factor authentication, consider switching to one that does. Google offers this feature for free on all Gmail accounts, the most popular email service in the world.

Step 5: Use a Secure Password Manager

It is crucial to use a unique, random password for every website and only use the same password once. This ensures that hackers will not have access to all your accounts if one site is hacked. Although it may seem challenging to remember dozens of unique and random passwords, you only need to remember one ultra-secure password. LastPass is a password manager that saves your passwords and automatically enters them for you on all websites. You can also use it to generate random, secure passwords saved for you in the app. The default setting for such passwords is 20 characters long and includes numbers, letters, and symbols.

When you log into your browser, you enter your master password, and the password manager takes over from there. This master password is the only password you need to memorize. If you forget your master password, you may be able to recover it via email, or you may be locked out for good. This is good because it means hackers cannot access your passwords either.

Although some security experts disagree, LastPass stores your passwords in the cloud, and LastPass servers have been attacked. KeePass is another excellent option that keeps your passwords locally rather than in the cloud. To better understand what each offers and how they work, compare top password managers.

Step 6: Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)

A VPN uses a private network to encrypt data over a public network, such as the Internet. When paying bills or buying stocks online, we recommend using a VPN like ExpressVPN to secure your transactions.

Although most banks and brokers have encrypted websites, a VPN adds an extra layer of protection by encrypting your data and making your identity and location anonymous. This is especially true if you use public Wi-Fi. With cyberattacks becoming more common, a VPN like NordVPN will help secure your financial accounts.

Step 7: Be Alert for Phishing and Other Nasty Tricks

Phishing schemes and other online tricks are becoming more sophisticated, and many people fall victim to them daily. Your finances could be devastated if you handed over the keys to your bank account. Always be alert for schemes and tricks, and never give out passwords or other personal information online, on the phone, or otherwise unless you dialed the number or personally knew the person on the other end of the line; never give out information that could be used to access accounts. If someone calls and says they are from your credit card company and need to verify something with you, hang up and call the number on the back of your credit card. Don’t just give out your “verification” information.

Step 8: Put Your Credit on Lockdown

The final option is to lock down your credit completely. You can pay for a service to lock your credit report. Equifax temporarily offers this service free to apologize for its dreadful security practices. With such a service, you must call in and unlock your credit before any new credit account can be opened. This can cause hassles for you when applying for loans and other recognition, but if you are an identity theft victim or fear you may become one, it is the last line of defense to protect your credit. It does not protect bank and investment accounts but is a secure option to protect your financial data.

Conclusion: Be Proactive, Not Reactive, With Your Sensitive Data

In modern times, data security is a topic of great importance. You do not have to live in constant fear of hackers and identity theft, but you should take reasonable precautions to protect yourself. Monitor your credit regularly and use strong passwords and two-factor authentication. This is the best way to keep your information safe. You can always take it a step further, but at least do the minimum to keep your financial information secure.