The Equifax security breach has an estimated 143 million Americans facing the serious threat of identify theft and has triggered a rush for consumers and business owners alike to protect themselves and their livelihoods.

When major hacks occur, individual account information can end up in the hands of bad actors who may attempt to use that information to access bank and credit card accounts, as well as other investments, including domain names. As a domain name investor who’s been building up a portfolio over time, how can you make sure your digital investments remain secure and avoid any potentially unverified domain name transfers due to the breach?

First, you’ll need to secure your identity by setting up a credit monitoring service, and even freezing credit temporarily, to prevent bad actors from taking over your identity with leaked or hacked sensitive information. If you are researching a security breach, be careful what sites you click on as many phishing pages have popped up to attempt to collect information from people trying to find out if their personal data was leaked. The official website for information on the Equifax breach is equifaxsecurity2017.com.

If you find out someone has stolen your identity, contact our customer team immediately. Let them know to not authorize any account changes over the phone during this time.

Next, you’ll want to take the proper precautions for your online accounts. Setting up two-factor authentication for your registrar and registry accounts is an easy way to safeguard your accounts from potential hacking. Texting or phone calls are the best forms for your second-factor of authentication because hackers are unlikely to have access to your cell phone, unlike information that could be leaked like your driver’s license number or the name of your hometown. GoDaddy does not use birth dates, Social Security Numbers or security questions for its two-factor authentication process as part of its policy to protect customers. Additionally, it’s a good idea to keep all your account information, specifically your email address and phone number, up to date across registrars and registries. Be sure to turn off any filters that send emails from GoDaddy or other registrars to the junk folder to ensure you receive notifications of any unauthorized account changes or transfer requests.

A general best practice for domain investors is to