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Exposed Account Username and Password

If you suspect or have been notified that your online account username and password may have been exposed, do the following:

  1. Change the password immediately or reset if necessary
  2. Report the issue to your account issuer's support desk and request an activity audit
  3. Reverse any unauthorized activity
  4. Check for other personal information
  5. Learn how to guard against Identity Theft

1.

Change the password immediately or reset if necessary

  If you can still login to the exposed account, then change to a strong password [PDF] immediately to prevent further unauthorized access.  For Andrew accounts, use Change Andrew Password.

If you cannot login to the account, then try using the site's password reset procedure if any.  For Andrew accounts, use Forgot Your Password?

If you still cannot get into the account, contact the site's support desk.  For Andrew accounts, call the Computing Services Help Center at 412-268-HELP (4357).

2.

Report the issue to your account issuer's support desk and request an activity audit

  Contact the site's support desk and tell them what happened.

Ask the support desk to help you audit your account for unauthorized activity.  For Andrew accounts, call the Computing Services Help Center at 412-268-HELP (4357).

3.

Reverse any unauthorized activity

  Ask your site's support desk to help you undo any unauthorized activity.  For Andrew accounts, call the Computing Services Help Center at 412-268-HELP (4357).

If possible, ask them to monitor your account for further strange activity.

If possible, enable email, phone, or text message activity alerts and check those contact methods regularly.

4.

Check for other personal information

  If your account contains personal information for your family or friends, alert them of the situation and refer them to Dealing with Suspicion or Notice of Data Breach.

If your account contains personal information for anyone except yourself, your family and your friends, notify your site's support desk.  For Andrew accounts, call or email the Information Security Office at 412-268-2044 or iso@andrew.cmu.edu.

If your account contains your financial account numbers, see Exposed Financial Account Number.

If your account contains your Social Security Number, see Exposed Social Security Number.

If your account contains other government issued ID numbers (e.g. driver's license number), see Exposed Government ID Number.

5.

Learn how to guard against Identity Theft

  For steps you can take to reduce your risk of Identity Theft, see Protecting Yourself from Identity Theft.