Was Your Texas Social Security Data Hacked? Find Out For Sure

You probably read the headlines last week. A massive security breach may have compromised the personal records of millions of Texas residents. From El Paso to Amarillo, Abilene to Paris, and Lufkin to Galveston and every other city in the state, if you have a Social Security card and account, your sensitive information could have been compromised.

Even if you don't receive benefits from Social Security this data breach is important to you because your Social Security number is tied to just about every piece of vital information there is about you on the planet. With your social security number, a bad guy could open a bank account in your name, take out a loan in your name, sign up for services in your name, or even buy a house or sell your current house out from under you.

According to reports about this most recent breach of sensitive information, the bulk of the data was compromised in December of 2023. There were subsequent leaks that followed in 2024. The leaked data includes Social Security numbers, mailing addresses, email accounts, and of course, the individual's name.

How Do You Know If Your Data Was Compromised?

Obviously, you'll want to remain vigilant and regularly monitor banking and credit accounts. You should be doing that anyway but if you feel as though your information is "out there" then it's really a good idea to enlist the aid of a professional credit monitoring service. You should also alert your financial institutions. Many times they can put a "stop" on payments or transactions that seem to be abnormal.

I have had credit card companies call me while on vacation because my card was being used in a different location than where it is normally used. While that can be annoying, attempting to fix a stolen identity is even harder.

These Two Sites Can Verify If Your Social Security Data Was Leaked

I know it might seem counterintuitive to visit another "online site" to verify "an online hack" but the companies offering this service are reputable. National Public Data is operated by Atlas Privacy. You may access their site here. 

The second site that we can offer as a suggestion to verify whether your data was breached or not comes from Pentester, they too are an online security company and you can access their information here.

What Should You Do If Your Data Was Breached?

There really isn't a lot you can do other than monitor your accounts and make a lot of changes in credit and financial information. You can visit IdentityTheft.gov a site from the Federal Trade Commission for more suggestions. But for the most part, you're just going to have to be extra vigilant for the next several months or years until the bad guys are caught or we come up with a better way to secure our information.