3 ways to protect yourself from latest hacking

Are you among the many consumers getting notifications from retailers and banks saying your name and/or email address could be in the hands of "unauthorized" persons who breached the files of Irving, Texas-based Epsilon, a third-party marketing vendor?

While it may sound like "only" names and emails have been accessed, the hacking accessed important information about each customer. Hackers can now send more convincing phishing email, seemingly from trusted merchants, says Carly Wardwell, education director with Debt Counseling Corp., Hauppauge. That may not be a problem now when you're on guard. But how about six months down the road?

Here's what to consider to protect yourself:

Don't click.  "If you did not originate the conversation, do not respond," says Ester Horowitz, chief executive of Merrick-based M2Power Inc, an information protection company. That means don't provide sensitive information or click on links in email, even if it seems to be from a trusted organization. Instead, go on your own to the organization's site or make a call to see if the message is legitimate, she says.

Alternate email. Consider having two email accounts, says Wardwell, one for personal or professional contacts, another exclusively for online merchants. That way closing out the merchant address is less onerous in a scenario such as this one. Is all this a lot of work? Yes, says Horowitz. But "you can be prudent now or pay later."

Oops. If you forget and respond to what you suspect is a phishing email, contact the real company immediately, says Wardwell, using the contact number you have on file. Learn more at Antiphishing.org (Click here to find it.)  and Onguardonline.gov. (Click here to connect.)