Published: August 22, 2024 on our newsletter Security Fraud News & Alerts Newsletter.
It’s news no one wants to hear but every American needs to know. So, just in case you missed this big news with the last few weeks, here’s a synopsis. A massive data breach targeting National Public Data (NPD), seized 2.9 billion files of highly sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) of what is believed to be every adult in the U.S. Subsequently, because of the scale and potential damage that could be caused, many lawsuits are being filed over it. However, for the rest of us, here's what everyone needs to know about this epic crime, including how to help protect yourself from potential identity theft and financial fraud attacks.
Even Worse Than It Looks
NPD is a public records data broker specializing in background checks and fraud prevention, and they collect data from publicly available databases nationwide. NPD is one-stop shopping for all personal data needs. Knowing this, the details of this data theft get worse…
Calling themselves USDoD, the hacking group reportedly offered to sell all the hijacked data for $3.5 million. It’s also reported one member of USDoD recently posted all of the stolen files online—for free. The content of the billions of hijacked data files includes Social Security number, full name and address, birth date, and more. It’s time to take a deep breath and keep on reading…
2.7 Billion in the Same Boat
700 million of the records effect Americans directly, and a whopping 2 billion records involve victims in Canada and the UK. Fortunately, there are common sense cyber-smarts we all need to use in the face of devastating data breaches.
Consider a freeze on your financial accounts. You can freeze and unfreeze them at any time for no charge.
Carefully check financial statements for unusual activity. If anything is amiss, contact your financial institution.
Use strong passwords. This means at least eight characters, including letters, numbers, and special characters.
Beware of phishing by email, text, or phone. In some cases, they may try all three.
Enable 2FA when available. This is available on most websites these days and adds one additional layer of security to your accounts.
It’s times like this when everyday Americans wonder how great the “digital age” really is. The results of the lawsuits may help, eventually, but not likely soon, if at all. Regardless, keeping your PII close along with using common sense cyber-smarts is the best response we have for data breaches today—and tomorrow.
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