Many major companies have had data breaches in recent years—networking sites like LinkedIn and credit bureaus Experian and Equifax, to name a few.
These data breaches have left millions of people with their personal data, such as addresses, email addresses, passwords, and social security numbers, floating around on the internet for bad actors to take advantage of.
One TikTok user says she suspects her information was caught up in a data leak, and that it was used to access her bank account.
In a video that has drawn over 1.7 million views on TikTok, user Sam (@samtiktoksthings on TikTok) says her data was used to make a $7.99 purchase from her account.
What does this suspicious charge mean?
“Check your bank accounts, y’all,” a text overlay on the video reads. “When you see a charge for $7.99 that you don’t recognize and when you Google it you realize you aren’t alone and your info was leaked.”
In a follow-up video, Sam elaborates that the charge was described as being for DBX Digital, a company she last purchased a date night box from more than eight years ago.
When she went to investigate the issue via Google, she could only find other people talking about this odd recurring charge labeled “DBX Digital.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Sam via TikTok direct message regarding the video.
How to protect your data if it’s been exposed in a leak
So your data got exposed—huge whoops. What now?
Experts—and Sam—recommend setting up text alerts for purchases made using your debit and credit cards and keeping credit cards locked, or turned off, unless you plan to use them. They also suggest changing up your debit and credit card numbers so that old data leaks cannot be used to access your existing account.
Additionally, experts recommend regularly changing passwords to prevent access to your account if the information has been leaked. Setting up two-factor authorization to make it more difficult to access your account once it’s been compromised also protects your data.
Viewers weigh in
Some viewers commented on Sam’s video that they were already well-prepared for a data breach, and have taken steps in their daily lives to prevent their information being used against them.
“I keep my card locked and only unlock it for a purchase and then I lock it back,” one commenter wrote.
“I never keep cash in my checking unless I’m paying a bill,” another commenter wrote. “Everything stays in my savings. They could try to charge it but my bank won’t allow it lol.”
“I use Apple Pay for transactions and do not use my pin,” a commenter wrote. “The card number is different then my bank card every transaction.”
@samtiktoksthings happy holidays 🥰✨💕 #creditcard #fraudalert #datasecurity ♬ It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
Others shared that they were in a similar boat, with their financial information being compromised after a data leak.
“I got a charge from uber for $10,” one commenter wrote. “I’ve never locked and requested a card faster.”
“Had to switch cards and do a whole bank account reset awhile ago because I was getting cash app charges for $1 , $2, $3 like they were seeing how much they could get away with,” another commenter wrote. “my bank flagged it and locked my account when they tried a larger amount. I got my money back but was an inconvenience when I went to use my card and it was locked because of that.”
“I was charged 7.99 last month,” a commenter wrote. “my bank reversed it and canceled my card.”
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
