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METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — Since the State of Louisiana isn’t sure what the eventual fallout from the Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) data breach may be, plenty of people are on edge.

“It is really scary that this can happen so easily and that people take the time to do something like this, Alison Daech said.

Daech is an Uber and Lyft Driver, so she depends on keeping her driver’s license and car registration up to date. News of the OMW data breach is keeping her on high alert.

“If they get information like that, then it helps the criminal,” she said.

This breach makes her question the government’s safety measures when it comes to personal information.

“You think the government would have some extra oomph in that they have extra people there to really use that technology to stop this. How can they help to protect us,” she said.

Over at ABC Title in Uptown, it is business as usual, despite the breach.

Liam Crane needed a new driver’s license.

“It is not the best thing to happen, but what am I going to do about it? Can’t control the uncontrollable, so here I am getting a new driver’s license,” Crane said.

While none of these drivers can control what happened. They can control how to protect themselves.

“I’ve already got Life Lock because I’ve had my car broken into, and I thought hey, if they get my information, I better have someone watching over me, so I do that. It is hard to keep up and hard to protect yourself against this,” Daech said.

1. Prevent Unauthorized New Account Openings or Loans and Monitor Your Credit

Individuals can freeze and unfreeze their credit for free, which stops others from opening new accounts and borrowing money in your name. Freezing your credit does not prevent the use of any existing credit cards or bank accounts. Freezing your credit may be done quickly online or by contacting the three major credit bureaus by phone:

Please also request and review your credit report from these agencies to look for suspicious activity.

2. Change All Passwords

As an additional precaution, consider changing all passwords for online accounts (examples: banking, social media and healthcare portals) in the event your personal data was used to access these accounts. Utilize multi-factor authentication when able. Learn more about password protection at CISA.gov.

3. Protect Your Tax Refund and Returns with the Internal Revenue Service

To prevent someone else from filing returns or receiving your federal tax refund, request an “Identity Protection Pin” from the Internal Revenue Service by signing up at irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin or calling the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.

4. Check your Social Security Benefits

All individuals who are eligible, applied for and/or are receiving social security benefits (including disability), please consider registering for a ssa.gov account at ssa.gov/myaccount/ to stop others from stealing your benefits. If you suspect Social Security fraud, call the Office of Inspector General hotline at 1-800-269-0271, Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213, or file a complaint online at oig.ssa.gov.

5. Report Suspected Identity Theft

If you suspect any abnormal activity involving your data, including financial information, contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP, or visit ReportFraud.FTC.gov immediately.

The State of Louisiana will be issuing additional information in the coming days. Additional tips on protecting your data and identity can be found at nextsteps.la.gov and IdentityTheft.gov.

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