Donald Trump Allegedly Hacked: Cellphone & Social Security Number Compromised

In a YouTube video released Thursday, hacking group Anonymous claims to have compromised Donald Trump.

Just two weeks after Anonymous promised a war against the leading Republican presidential candidate, the group released documents that allegedly include Trump’s Social Security number, cellphone number, birth date, children’s names and other pieces of personal information.

The group said in the video it opposes Trump due to his “agenda of fascism and xenophobia.”

Trump’s campaign released a statement on the hack, saying “The government and law enforcement authorities are seeking the arrest of the people responsible for attempting to illegally hack Mr. Trump’s accounts and telephone information.”

Getting hacked is no new trend for politicians. In 2013, the credit reports of First Lady Michelle Obama and FBI Director Robert Mueller were allegedly posted online. And with the amount of information readily available for political candidates online — you can find Trump’s birth date, children’s names and full legal name easily on his Wikipedia page, for example — it’s not even that surprising that a high-profile individual could be hacked.

But there are a few things the little guys can do to make sure you don’t get “Trumped.” Adam Levin, identity theft expert and co-founder of Credit.com, recommends the three Ms technique to identity theft protection. Those three Ms are:

• Minimize your exposure. Limit the personal information you post online. Your birthdate, home address and even your pet’s name can all be used to get access to your accounts.
• Monitor your accounts. Check your credit reports (you can get them for free once a year), keep track of your credit scores and review your bank accounts regularly (daily, if possible). You can check two of your credit scores for free every month on Credit.com.
• Manage the damage. Report any instances of identity theft to the authorities immediately, consider freezing your credit if necessary, and maintain your vigilance — some forms of identity theft don’t have a time limit on them and can happen years after you’ve been compromised.

You may not be lucky enough to have the resources like Trump has to be able to fix any identity theft damage, (though disputing errors on your credit report is free) so it’s important to do what you can to make yourself a harder target.

More on Identity Theft:

• Identity Theft: What You Need to Know
• How Do I Dispute an Error on My Credit Report?
• 3 Dumb Things You Can Do With Email

Image: andykatz