Hacker steals social security numbers; FGCU data science professor weighs in

Billions of social security numbers are in the hands of hackers. The discovery was made in a lawsuit filed against national public data.

The hacker claims the stolen files have people’s full names, birthdays, social security and phone numbers.

A computing and data science professor at Florida Gulf Coast University explained how you can secure your information.

“Changing password frequently and using long passwords and using to the two factorizations frequently check your credit report,” said Chengyi Qu.

Horace Lyons wasn’t worried about anyone stealing his info.

“You gotta remember, I’m broke, so if you want my identity, the first thing is you’re gonna owe money,” Horace Lyons.

But even if you don’t have money, it could still do damage.

“You maybe have no money, but you still have a higher credit score, so hackers may use that to do some loans, maybe do some like, credit card [fraud]. They will get you some fraud information about that, so still getting risks,” Qu said.

Those we spoke with said they were cautious about where they shared their information, especially their social security card.

If you are a victim of any hack, freeze your account and report it to law enforcement.