Why the recent LinkedIn password breach is a warning to all of us

(WXYZ) - Think about your Facebook, bank or credit card password? Are they same? If so… that’s why the recent LinkedIn breach is a good heads up. Password theft can happen on any website. And too many of us use the same passwords all the time.

“I usually use the same password, I use the same password with most of my accounts,” Delaney Anning told the Don’t Waste Your Money team.

Harry Loughmiller tells us he changes them up a bit.

"I do have some passwords at multiple places, but I have multiple passwords that I use."

That's a bit better. The problem, of course, is that if thieves get a hold of your password and start plugging it in to bank and credit card websites, they can cause serious damage. For that reason, internet security firms warn you to change up those passwords.

The Safety and Security Center at Microsoft suggests these password safety steps:

• make them long, with 8 or more characters
• make them complex, with letters, punctuation,symbols and numbers
• change them often,say every three months
• don’t use the same password for everything… it can be a costly mistake.