The risks have changed. Your next step can be simple.
Major breaches have exposed personal information. AI can make scams more convincing and attacks faster. A few protective habits are worth putting in place before something happens.
Sources reviewed October 28, 2026
You can be careful and still be affected.
You can be careful online and still be affected by a breach at a credit bureau, healthcare company, employer, or data broker. These organizations may hold your information even if you never created an account with them.
Social Security numbers exposed in the 2024 National Public Data breach.
Security researchers at Constella reported this estimate. Leaked files containing real Social Security numbers were posted publicly.
The records included deceased people and inaccurate information. This is not a verified count of living Americans affected.
Constella, NPD breach analysis (opens in a new tab) · Troy Hunt, NPD investigation (opens in a new tab)A public leak does not mean everyone in it has suffered identity theft. It does mean criminals may have information they can use to impersonate people. You can take protective steps without knowing whether your own number was included.
AI is changing both scams and cyberattacks.
A convincing message or familiar voice is no longer a good reason to trust an urgent request. The FBI describes criminals using AI to write persuasive messages, impersonate relatives with cloned voices, and create fake video calls. FBI, AI-enabled financial fraud (opens in a new tab)
October 2026 brought concrete examples beyond chatbots: AI-assisted discovery of critical flaws in PHP, software used by websites, an attack campaign using AI agents, and a compromised release of an AI software tool. These were different events with different causes. OpenAI, coordinated PHP disclosure (opens in a new tab) · Microsoft, ARTEX attack investigation (opens in a new tab) · LiteLLM, completed investigation (opens in a new tab)
The practical lesson is to verify requests independently, keep devices updated, and protect important accounts. Read what happened in October 2026.
Three things many people do not realize.
A credit freeze is free.
In the U.S., freezing and lifting a freeze costs nothing. It does not lower your credit score or stop you using existing cards. Place a freeze separately with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. FTC, credit freezes and fraud alerts (opens in a new tab)
Tax identity theft needs its own protection.
An IRS Identity Protection PIN helps prevent someone filing a federal tax return using your Social Security number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). You can enroll proactively after verifying your identity. IRS, Identity Protection PIN (opens in a new tab)
You can verify a request without spotting a fake.
End an unexpected call and contact the person or institution through a number you already trust. You do not need to decide whether a voice was generated by AI. FBI, AI-enabled financial fraud (opens in a new tab)
You do not need to solve everything today.
Start by securing your main email, using different passwords, and turning on two-factor authentication, which adds another check when you sign in. Then work through the protections that fit your household. U.S. identity steps are included when you choose them in setup.
No single action prevents every scam or breach. The checkup helps you add useful protections one at a time, and saves your place in this browser.