Posted on June 10, 2024
Grantee highlight: Advocates for Trans Equality fights for the legal and political rights of transgender people
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This June, Advocates for Trans Equality is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will support Advocates for Trans Equality in its work to create a world where trans people can live their lives joyfully and without barriers.
Read this important blog post about Advocates for Trans Equality’s critical work, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to the group to assist its efforts — and the efforts of our other outstanding June grantees.
In March, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund merged to form Advocates for Trans Equality. This was a significant moment in the ongoing fight for transgender equality.
The launch of Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE) isn’t just the merger of two powerful organizations, it’s a beacon of hope in a time when the rights of transgender people are under constant attack. This unification signifies a critical step forward — but the journey toward true equality will be long, requiring both celebration and unwavering support.
Let’s first acknowledge the cause for celebration. A4TE brings together the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, two organizations that boast a combined 40 years of experience in securing legal and political victories for the transgender community. Their work has been instrumental in dismantling barriers, promoting understanding and paving the way for a more just society. Thus A4TE is a force multiplier, combining expertise, resources and a powerful collective voice that will significantly amplify the fight for transgender equality.
This celebration, however, is shadowed by a stark reality. The fact that we need an organization like A4TE emphasizes the ongoing struggle for the basic rights of trans people. Anti-trans legislation is on the rise, targeting rights from healthcare access to routine community activities. Transgender people face discrimination in housing, employment and public spaces. They were the subject of 510+ anti-trans bills throughout the U.S. in 2023 alone. The fight for equality is far from over but A4TE will be a powerful force of resilience and determination for the transgender community.
This is where our role as allies is crucial. Celebrating A4TE is a fantastic first step but it cannot be the only one. We must move forward in solidarity with our transgender siblings. This means actively educating ourselves about transgender identities and experiences. It means challenging prejudice and discrimination wherever we see it. It means advocating for inclusive policies and legislation.
There are countless ways to demonstrate solidarity. Please support A4TE and our fight to promote equitable transgender initiatives. Please amplify trans voices on social media and in your community. And, perhaps most important, please listen with an open mind and heart to the experiences of transgender people.
The launch of A4TE is a victory — a victory shared by many. It’s a testament to the strength of the transgender community and a call to action for allies. Let us celebrate this milestone but let us not forget the fight that continues. Together, through unwavering commitment and collective action, we can help create a world where transgender people are not just tolerated but celebrated for who they are.
For CREDO Mobile customers, supporting A4TE is an investment in a more just and equitable future. CREDO Mobile is a company built on progressive values and A4TE’s mission to secure legal and lived equality for transgender people perfectly aligns with those values. When you vote to direct a grant to us this June, you’re not just making a contribution, you’re supporting an organization that makes a real difference in the lives of transgender people. It’s a powerful way to turn your everyday actions into positive change.
Posted on June 3, 2024
Donations spotlight: Fair Fight Action works for fair elections in Georgia and around the country
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This June, Fair Fight Action is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from CREDO Mobile will support Fair Fight Action, which was founded by Stacy Abrams, in its campaign to educate voters about elections and their voting rights, encourage voter participation in elections and ensure fair elections in Georgia around the U.S.
Read this important blog post about Fair Fight Action’s critical work, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding June grantees.
Almost four years ago, Georgia voters shocked the nation and the world, enduring harsh, even ruthless conditions to turn out in historic numbers. Ever since, far-right extremists have worked to remove members of Georgia’s multiracial, multigenerational coalition from the voter rolls via mass voter challenges.
These challenges are part of a coordinated effort to target voters who pose a threat to entrenched interests. Their intended consequence is to shrink the electorate and, by extension, decide who gets a say in the future of our democracy. The people behind the challenges use race-neutral, racially targeted language to mask their true intention, which is to hold onto their power as it is eroded by the shifting population of Georgia. According to the 2020 Census, Georgia was 51.9% white in 2020. Given that the population of people of color in Georgia is growing at a faster rate than the population of white Georgians, it is likely that white Georgians now make up less than 50% of the state’s population.
SB 189: Georgia’s latest voter-suppression law
In May, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed yet another voter-purge bill, SB 189. It’s a law aimed at mass disenfranchisement that will especially impact Black, Brown, rural, senior and unhoused voters across the state. The new law, which goes into effect in July, could affect thousands of Georgians by:
- Removing computer-readable QR codes from ballots. The cost of doing this could reach $300 million and will put more strain on already underfunded and overworked county boards of elections.
- Placing an extreme burden on election administrators by imposing rapid, unrealistic ballot-processing turnaround mandates.
- Opening more pathways for vigilantes to kick voters off the rolls via mass challenges.
- Implementing confusing, vague and disenfranchising new rules for unhoused voters.
With SB 189, Gov. Kemp is building on his legacy as a vote-suppressor. He has now signed into law three election-administration bills that are inherently anti-voter. These efforts have marked his tenure in public service since he was the secretary of state. He has long been a willing participant in efforts to undermine our democracy, notwithstanding the praise he’s gotten for saying no to Donald Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Just two months after that election—and a month after the January 6 insurrection—Kemp drafted, pushed and signed SB 202, which handed anti-democracy vigilantes a free pass to work on purging voters they don’t like from the voter rolls. Make no mistake, this is an open attack on the Georgia voters who showed up in record numbers to cast a ballot in spite of a pandemic, long lines, and efforts to intimidate and influence their votes.
A chilling effect
According to findings by Fair Fight Action, thousands of Georgians will be impacted by the recent legislation, including 6,000 unhoused folks in Fulton County alone. Coupled with SB 202, SB 189 will have a deep chilling effect, with implications not just for this election but for all elections conducted in Georgia in the future.
Voter challengers have made their intentions clear: keep voting as far out of reach as possible, particularly for Black and Brown voters. In Forsyth County, Black voters represent 3.59% of registrants but make up 6.18% of challenged voters. In Cobb County, where 49% of registrants are voters of color, these voters were 61% of the voters challenged. In Dekalb County, young people ages 18-34 make up 30.08% of voters but comprised 39.43% of the voters challenged.
Here’s what Fair Fight Action is doing to fight back.
- We’re working to restore voters to the rolls.
- We’re fighting anti-voter legislation and laws that impact free and fair elections.
- We’re exposing vigilantes and their networks to raise awareness of their efforts.
- We’re recruiting and supporting election workers to ensure right-wing attacks don’t have their intended effect, which is to undermine election administration.
Still in the fight—and in it to win it
We’re still in the fight because of your support. Indeed, our work would be impossible without the backing of individuals and organizations who are willing to stand with us as we continue supporting Georgia voters and election workers.
Democracy is at grave risk without people who are committed to protecting it. The voter-challengers are relentless and will not stop. This is the case not only in Georgia but across the U.S., as far-right activists challenge voters around the country and try to remove them from the voter rolls. A majority of these activists are tied to national anti-voting networks.
The future of our nation is in the balance. And that’s why your support is so crucial. With your help, we will have the resources and tools we need to help Georgians—and all Americans—overcome barriers to voting and secure their freedom to vote once and for all.
Posted on June 2, 2024
Our May grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. In May, CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation among the National Immigration Law Center, UltraViolet, and Vote.org.
These donations are made possible by CREDO Mobile customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our May grant recipients thank you.
National Immigration Law Center
“NILC’s work isn’t possible without the support of dedicated allies like you. Thank you for joining our collective fight to defend immigrants’ rights and ensure that we all have the freedom to thrive, regardless of where we were born” – Kica Matos, President
To learn more, please visit: www.nilc.org
UltraViolet
“Thank you CREDO members! Your support for UltraViolet helps us build a feminist future and make the dream of gender justice a reality.” – Nicole Regalado, VP of Campaigns
To learn more, please visit: https://weareultraviolet.org/
Vote.org
“We deeply appreciate your support. Despite registering over 5 million voters since 2020, our team is relatively small, and we rely on supporters like you to ensure we can sustain our innovative tools and accurate information.” – Andrea Hailey, CEO, Vote.org
To learn more, please visit: vote.org
Now check out the three groups we are funding in June, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO Mobile customers who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the phone company that is better for all people and the planet. If you are not a customer, please consider switching your service to CREDO Mobile. If you are already a customer, thank you and do tell your friends.
Posted on June 1, 2024
Vote for Fair Fight Action, Government Accountability Project and Advocates for Trans Equality in June
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly grant to three amazing progressive nonprofits. Every vote makes a difference. This June, you can support Fair Fight Action, Government Accountability Project and Advocates for Trans Equality.
Fair Fight Action
Founded by Stacey Abrams, Fair Fight Action is a voting rights organization that fights for free and fair elections. We advocate, organize, and litigate to protect the freedom to vote for all eligible American voters. Funding from CREDO members will support our goals to mitigate voter suppression, advocate for pro-voter legislation, and provide voters reliable and accurate voting information.
Government Accountability Project
Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. Its mission is to promote accountability by protecting whistleblowers, advancing occupational free speech, and empowering citizen activists. Funding from CREDO members will allow us to expand whistleblower protections and to disclose corruption within jails and detention centers, on factory farms, at nuclear power plants, within the oil industry, at banks, by big pharma, and throughout society.
Advocates for Trans Equality
A4TE works at all levels of society to ensure trans voices are not only heard, but embraced in rooms where they’ve been ignored. As a trans-led nonprofit, we help our community navigate the realities of law and policy through vital tools and services. Our community is facing unparalleled violence and sociopolitical discrimination solely because we choose to live our lives authentically and without fear. Funding from CREDO members will help A4TE during a pivotal moment in the fight for trans rights.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donations among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by June 30th.
CREDO Mobile customers who use our service everyday are the reason we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and join our movement.
Posted on May 16, 2024
Giving travel advice? Do it with a Google Maps List
Giving advice: we all like to do it, most of us, anyway. And we especially like giving travel advice, telling friends and family who are on a trip about the best places to visit in our hometown — or any town we know well, be it Paris, France, or Paris, Texas.
One way to give travel advice is to write an email, maybe craft a long text or talk on the phone. But there’s a better way: create and share a List in Google Maps.
It’s easy to do
First, open the Google Maps app. Then, tap the Saved tab at the bottom. A side menu will open and from there you can create a new List or add locations to one of the Google Maps preset Lists: Favorites, Want to go, Starred places, Labeled and Travel plans.
Let’s say you choose to put your List of locations in Travel plans. Tap Travel plans and a new side menu will open. Tap Add, then tap Map, then tap the icon of the location you want to add to your List.
You might have a visiting friend who’s a coffee lover. You can tap all your favorite cafes in Google Maps and they’ll be added to your Travel plans List. Or, in that original side menu, you can tap New list, name it Best Cafes and put all your favorites there. Tap Choose icon and you can add an emoji to your List.
When you’re finished, tap Save at the top right. Your List will be saved and will appear in the side menu whenever you open Google Maps and tap the Saved tab. If you want to add new locations later, just tap the location in Google Maps, tap Save, choose the List you want to add the location to, then tap Done. Or you can open your List and add locations to it by tapping icons in Google Maps.
As you compile your List, you can also add photos and notes for each location. Google Maps will suggest photos as you go, if they’re available.
Share your List
To share your List, find it in the initial side menu, then tap the three dots next to it. Tap Share list and you can share it via text, email, Facebook Messenger or via another platform. Google Maps will then send a link to the recipient, which will take them to your List.
You can also invite others to contribute to your List. Just tap your List to open it, then tap Invite collaborators.
For a 25-second YouTube explainer on Lists from Google, click here.
Make the world better with CREDO Mobile
We have a list we’d like to share with you. It’s a list of all the phone companies that believe in a better world and work hard to make it happen. It’s a list of one: CREDO Mobile.
We’re the one phone company that’s dedicated to the same progressive causes you care about — and the one that has donated over $95 million to nonprofit groups fighting for those causes. Groups like Friends of the Earth, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and the Transgender Law Center.
Where do these donations come from? They’re generated by our customers, just by using our service. They cost our customers nothing extra but they mean everything to the groups we support.
If you’re not already a CREDO Mobile member, please consider joining now. You’ll get all you want from a phone company: the nation’s top-rated network, competitive plans and great deals on new devices.
And you’ll get much more. You’ll get an easy, effective way to make a difference in the world by generating much-needed donations for progressive nonprofits dedicated to the causes you believe in.
Posted on May 14, 2024
Donations highlight: Support Vote.org as it works to ensure that every eligible American has the freedom to vote
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This May, Vote.org is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will support Vote.org in its work to increase voting and reach historically underserved voters of color and underrepresented young voters.
Read this important blog post about Vote.org’s critical work, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding May grantees.
As we approach the pivotal 2024 general election, the urgent need for civic engagement and voter participation has never been more clear. Against a backdrop of ongoing threats to democracy and an evolving legislative and political landscape, Vote.org remains one of the strongest and most trusted institutions ensuring that every eligible American has the freedom to vote.
Vote.org’s mission is to expand the electorate and encourage people to be lifelong voters. We do this with our cutting-edge voter tools, through direct voter outreach, by amplifying our tools and outreach with partners and influencers, by providing election and polling information to users, and by directly educating voters about election laws that may affect their right to vote. And, sometimes, by challenging those laws in court.
In 2020 and 2022, Vote.org ran the largest voter-mobilization programs in our history. Focusing on young people, communities of color and low-income voters, Vote.org played a crucial role in increasing voter participation. In 2020, over 39 million people came to Vote.org to get the tools and information they needed to vote. Since 2019, we’ve helped register over 5 million voters, which makes Vote.org the largest independent voter registration organization in the nation.
Building on our remarkable achievements in previous election cycles, we continue to lead the charge in revolutionizing voter engagement and accessibility. With a focus on innovation, inclusivity and data-driven strategies, Vote.org is poised to make an even greater impact in 2024.
Vote.org’s impact is deep and broad.
- Leading voter registration efforts. According to an independent voter registration survey, Vote.org registers more voters than any other independent organization in the country. We registered more than double the number of voters as the next-largest organization in the 2022 midterms. The voters we register are younger and more racially diverse than the electorate. Notably, Vote.org’s voters are also more likely to vote. In 2020, 81% of those who registered on Vote.org ended up casting a ballot. Already, Vote.org has registered nearly 500,000 voters this cycle, including over 200,000 18-year-olds, which is nearly double the number of 18-year-olds registered by this point in 2020.
- Trending up women voters. Women have long outpaced men in using Vote.org’s registration tool and that trend is accelerating in the 2024 election. Of the nearly 500,000 voters we’ve helped register this cycle, 61% are women.
- Breaking new ground on the radio. Vote.org is committed to maximizing the impact of every donation we receive – and there’s no better example of this than the groundbreaking, culturally relevant radio program we’ve created to turn out infrequent voters in communities of color. Every ad is locally tailored to the communities it airs in and ads are matched with local accents and dialects, using different Spanish-language accents for relevant Spanish speakers. We even have Navajo-translated ads. This randomized control-trial-proven, best-in-class radio program has set a new standard for nonpartisan GOTV programs. In 2022, the radio program turned out more than 220,000 voters who otherwise would not have voted. In fact, the Analyst Institute found that this represents “one of the most cost-efficient mobilization programs in a presidential election” that it has ever tested. You can read more about this and other innovative programs here.
- Building campus programs. org realizes that on-ramping the next generation of voters is key to building a healthy democracy for years to come. Central to the strategy is the prioritization of engagement at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions (MSIs). Significantly, 70% of people who use Vote.org’s registration tool are under age 35.
- Forging strategic partnerships. Vote.org leverages partnerships with companies, nonprofits, athletes, celebrities, labor unions, artists and many others to amplify our reach in targeted communities by empowering trusted messengers and platforms with the trusted brand and information provided by Vote.org. On National Voter Registration Day last year, an Instagram post from Taylor Swift encouraging people to register via Vote.org led to 30,000 new voters in one day and a total of more than 41,000 over the course of the week. This work with Swift was recently honored with a Webby Award for Best Influencer Collaboration.
Our ElectionDay.org program has engaged over 1,000 companies to give paid time off to vote to their employees and our partnerships with the NBA and NBPA, as well as US Soccer, Athlete Ally and Athletes Unlimited, leverage the platform of sports to activate fans, players, coaches and staff around civic engagement. A recently launched partnership with Snapchat promises to reach 100 million young people on the social media platform with Vote.org tools and information. We also provide the voter-engagement technology for many groups in the space, including but not limited to: NAACP, Voto Latino, Headcount, When We All Vote, Southern Poverty Law Center, Black Voters Matter, Poder Latinx, and many others.
- Pushing strategic litigation. While Vote.org is supporting voters daily, we are also fighting in the courtroom to ensure that voters have a fair shot. We’re in active litigation in Georgia, Texas and Florida challenging “wet signature” laws that require voters to print voting forms and sign with a pen and ink, even as these same states accept electronic signatures on all kinds of official forms, from drivers’ licenses to tax returns.
As we look ahead to the 2024 elections, the work of Vote.org has never been more important. With the future of democracy at stake, Vote.org is leading the charge to ensure that every eligible voter has the opportunity to make their voice heard.
To support Vote.org’s mission and get involved in the fight for democracy, visit https://www.vote.org/about/. Together, we can build a more inclusive and participatory democracy for all Americans.
Posted on May 7, 2024
Donations highlight: Support the National Immigration Law Center in its work to defend the rights of immigrants
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This May, the National Immigration Law Center is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will support the NILC in its work to ensure that all people who live in the U.S. have the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
Read this important blog post about the NILC’s critical work, then visit CREDODonations.com and cast your vote to help send funding to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding May grantees.
The world is now seeing the highest levels of migration in recorded history, with climate change, poverty and political turmoil driving more and more people to risk their lives and cross dangerous borders in search of peace, safety and freedom.
Here in the U.S., which is home to more migrants than any other country, immigration has always been a politically challenging issue but we’re now in a uniquely fraught era. Anti-immigrant forces have announced plans — if Donald Trump is reelected — to reinstate cruel attacks on immigrant families, including mass deportations, detention camps, asylum bans and an end to birthright citizenship. Even the Biden administration, which initially promised to bring humanity back to the country’s immigration systems and welcome people seeking safety, is now doubling down on harsh immigration enforcement measures.
As we approach the presidential election, hateful and racist narratives about immigrants are a major part of policy platforms and central to election debates. Migrants seeking refuge in the U.S. are being used as pawns in political stunts. And some state and local policymakers who once championed more welcoming immigration policies are now raising alarms about financial strains that state and local governments are facing as they try to meet the needs of newly arrived migrants.
For over four decades, the National Immigration Law Center has defended the rights of low-income immigrants and their loved ones. One factor that sets NILC apart is that we advance immigrant justice using multiple strategies: litigation, advocacy, collective movement-building and narrative/culture change.
Our current program priorities are designed to realize our vision of a future in which everyone in the U.S. — regardless of where we were born or how much money we have — can live with dignity and thrive in the country we call home.
Saving DACA
Since the program’s creation almost 12 years ago, over 800,000 young people who came to the U.S. without legal immigration status have benefited from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, arguably the most popular immigration program in modern U.S. history.
However, due to a protracted legal battle, the Supreme Court could soon strike down DACA. Our overarching goal is to drive policy reforms to ensure that immigrant youth can work and live in the U.S. without fear of deportation, which the public widely supports.
Preserving education for all
Over 40 years ago, in the landmark Plyler v. Doe case, the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to discriminate against undocumented children by denying them access to free public education. However, in the wake of the Dobbs decision reversing another longstanding precedent on reproductive healthcare, extremists have publicly declared their intent to get the Supreme Court to reverse Plyler.
Because access to education is an important pathway out of poverty and crucial to a functioning, inclusive democracy, our multifaceted campaign focuses on building a broad and powerful coalition to ensure that all children have access to public K-12 schools, regardless of their immigration status.
Ensuring labor rights for immigrants
For over a decade, the NILC has led the fight to ensure that immigrants can fight for their rights on the job without fear that their employer will report them to immigration authorities in retaliation. We celebrated when the government issued new guidance last January on how immigrants involved in labor disputes may seek “deferred action” or protection from deportation.
However, eligible workers often face hurdles in getting the necessary legal support to file their deferred action requests. We are collaborating with organizers, advocates and union leadership around the country to try to fill that gap and guarantee that as many eligible immigrant workers as possible can get these protections and help improve workplaces for all workers.
Protecting the health of all people
While the Affordable Care Act extended access to affordable healthcare to nearly 40 million people, one segment of the population was excluded from this reform: undocumented immigrants. This has had devastating effects on families across the country and completely changed the makeup of the uninsured population.
Given the NILC’s longstanding goal to ensure that no person is denied access to public health insurance programs because of where they were born or the color of their skin, we are working with allies across the country to fuel creative and community-driven policy solutions to expand immigrants’ access to healthcare.
Working for a more humane immigration system
In addition to playing a leading role in challenging federal legislation and executive actions that would ban or restrict lawful immigration pathways and ramp up deportations, we are also working at the state level to combat rising authoritarianism driven by extremist politicians bent on building border walls and turning back asylum seekers and migrants seeking refuge in the U.S. Apart from this defensive work, we also continue advocating for a 21st century federal immigration system that is fair, just and humane.
To learn more about what we do, visit NILC.org.
Posted on May 3, 2024
Our April grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. In April, CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation among Black Voters Matter, Friends of the Earth and People for the American Way Foundation.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our April grant recipients thank you.
Black Voters Matter
“Thank you for your support, this grant helps to further our work in advocating for voting rights and empowering Black communities across the nation. Your support has been vital in helping us continue our mission to build power in our communities.” – Cliff Albright, Co-founder and Executive Director, Black Voters Matter
To learn more, visit www.bvmcapacitybuilding.org.
Friends of the Earth
“Thank you for voting for Friends of the Earth! CREDO members like you are fueling our work for climate justice. You are empowering us to push for fair and equitable solutions to the climate crisis – solutions that put people before profits.” – Erich Pica, President, Friends of the Earth
To learn more, visit www.foe.org.
People for the American Way Foundation
“Thank you for supporting People For’s voting rights work. Together, we can combat voter suppression efforts perpetrated by radical extremists, educate voters about the issues that matter most, and make sure that every voter’s voice is heard.” – Svante Myrick, President & CEO, People For the American Way Foundation
To learn more, visit www.pfaw.org.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in May, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on May 2, 2024
What to do if your personal information is exposed in data breach
Your personal information is valuable. And bad actors are working harder than ever to get their hands on it. Data breaches were up 20% in 2023 from 2022. There were 3,205 data breaches in 2023 and 353 million victims in total.
If you’re unlucky enough to be one of them, the consequences can be life-changing. You may suffer serious financial loss, reputational damage, your credit score can be wrecked and the emotional stress can be severe. You might spend weeks or months — maybe years — trying to recover.
If you do get a notification that your personal data was exposed in a breach, take these five steps to limit the impact, prevent identity theft or other fraud and save yourself a great deal of trouble.
Stay on top of it
If your personal information was exposed in a data breach, the company that suffered the breach will let you know. They’re required by law to do so if they operate in the U.S. If you do get notified of a breach, keep all the messages you receive and follow up on the advice given by the company that was breached.
Keep in mind that data breaches are often not detected right away, so the bad guys may have had your information in their possession for a while by the time you get a notice that your information has been exposed. It’s possible the hackers have already used your information for malicious purposes, so keep any letters or emails you receive regarding new accounts or loans from lenders you don’t recognize.
Secure your accounts
If you’re notified of a breach, the notification will identify the accounts that have been compromised. Right away, you should change the passwords and PINs you use to sign into those accounts, be they bank accounts, credit card accounts or other accounts.
Then think about changing the log-ins on your other accounts, because if cyberthieves have stolen your personal information — like your birthday, address and other data — they’ll have an easier time breaking into any of your accounts whose log-ins include your personal information in usernames and passwords.
Put a fraud alert in place
A fraud alert tells any lender that receives an application in your name — like a credit card or bank loan application — that the applicant could be using a stolen identify, i.e. yours. The alert signifies to the lender that it should take extra steps to ensure the application is from you, not a fraudster.
When you place a fraud alert at any one of the three national credit bureaus — Experian, TransUnion and Equifax — it will automatically be applied by all three bureaus. A fraud alert stays in effect for one year. You can renew it at the end of the year and, if you’re the victim of fraud, you can request an alert that stays in place for seven years.
Watch your accounts and credit reports
Monitor your bank, credit card and other accounts and opt into any alerts offered by those financial institutions with which you do business. Then if you see any activity on your accounts that you don’t recognize, you can quickly report it and minimize damage.
You should also watch your credit report for any unfamiliar activity, like new credit cards or loans, or new addresses added to your personal profile. You can check your credit report free at any of the three national credit bureaus or at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Freeze your credit
This is a more extreme step than placing a fraud alert — and more inconvenient — but it’s worth thinking about. A freeze restricts access to your credit report at those credit bureaus where you ask for it.
If you place a freeze at all three credit bureaus, you’ll be well-protected from financial frauds like scammers applying for a credit card in your name. But a freeze will also prevent legitimate creditors from checking your credit for applications you initiate yourself. In that case, you can unfreeze your credit. It’s a cumbersome process but it might be worth the trouble.
Consider CREDO Mobile
Here at CREDO, we take consumer rights seriously and we support nonprofit organizations that fight to protect your rights. Recently, we’ve made significant grants to nonprofit groups including the ACLU, Common Cause and Social Security Works.
These donations — and all the donations we make every year —are generated by our customers, just by using our service. They cost nothing extra but they mean everything to our nonprofit partners. So if you’re a CREDO Mobile customer, thank you.
If you’re not a customer, consider joining now. You’ll get all you want from a phone company: the nation’s top-rated network, competitive plans and great deals on new devices.
And you’ll get much more. You’ll get an easy, effective way to make a difference in the world by generating much-needed donations for progressive nonprofits dedicated to the causes you believe in, like the environment, human rights and economic equality.
Posted on April 30, 2024
Vote for National Immigration Law Center, UltraViolet and Vote.org this May
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly grant to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This May, you can support National Immigration Law Center, UltraViolet and Vote.org
National Immigration Law Center
With immigrant communities again under attack, NILC is ready to meet the moment, fighting formidably to advance and defend immigrant’s rights in the courts, in the streets, the halls of Congress, and in states legislatures across the country.
Funding from CREDO members will help NILC challenge anti-immigrant policies and laws, build power within the immigrants’ rights and other social justice movements, and shift hearts and minds toward a more inclusive, pro-immigrant worldview.
UltraViolet
UltraViolet combines organizing, technology, creative campaigning, and people power to disrupt the conventions of politics, media, corporate behavior, and pop culture to dismantle the white supremacist patriarchy and create a cost for sexism.
Funding from CREDO will support UltraViolet to hold political leaders accountable to feminist values, disrupt and change the information environment, and build the power of progressive feminist constituencies and leaders.
Vote.org
Vote.org is the leading voter registration organization in the country, helping to register over 5 million voters since 2020. We provide every eligible voter with the tools and information they need to register to vote and cast their ballot.
This funding will be used to ensure we can continue to provide our voter registration tools and election reminders to millions of voters leading up to the 2024 presidential election.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donations among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by March 31.
CREDO members who use our products and services everyday are the reason we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and join our movement.
