INDIANAPOLIS — If you do business with Ticketmaster, you could be getting a notice about a data breach.
Its parent company, Live Nation, filed a document saying "a criminal threat actor offered what it alleged to be Company user data for sale via the dark web."
But whether it's Ticketmaster or another company, there are actions to take depending on the type of information that is exposed.
Carrie Kerskie, an identity theft, restoration and prevention specialist, said – if it's your username and password – the solution is simple.
"Change your password," Kerskie said. "If you use that password anywhere else, change it there, too."
Kerskie said this is one of the reasons you should not recycle passwords.
If your bank or credit card information is at risk, Kerskie said to contact the financial institution.
"Tell them the information has been exposed, and they may give you a new account or a new credit card," Kerskie said.
You can also set alerts for charges over a certain dollar amount.
If your social security number is at risk, Kerskie explained that a credit freeze is the best defense.
"It tells the bureaus they are not allowed to release your credit report for any new credit applications," Kerskie said. "If somebody tries to frequently apply for a new credit card, for example, using your information, the credit card company doesn't see the report, they can't make a financial decision, the account doesn't get opened."
A freeze needs to be done with each bureau – Experian, Equifax, TransUnion and Innovis – and it can be done online.
Credit monitoring is different from a credit freeze. Monitoring services let you know after there is a problem rather than preventing the problem.
To obtain a copy of your credit report, the government authorized site is AnnualCreditReport.com.
The FTC said, "Federal law gives you the right to get a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus. In addition, the three bureaus have permanently extended a program that lets you check your credit report from each once a week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. Also, everyone in the U.S. can get six free credit reports per year from Equifax through 2026 by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. That’s in addition to the one free Equifax report (plus your Experian and TransUnion reports) that you can get annually atAnnualCreditReport.com."