A massive data breach has put the personal information of millions of Americans at risk of being targeted by hacking groups and dark web marketplaces.
National Public Data, a company that aggregates data for background checks, acknowledged in a post on its website that it had been hacked and that Social Security numbers were among the information that was exposed.
“This incident appears to have involved a third-party malicious actor attempting to hack into data in late December 2023, potentially resulting in the exposure of certain data in April 2024 and summer 2024,” the Florida-based company said on its website.
News of the breach initially came from a class action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and first reported by Bloomberg Law last week.
Here’s what we know about the breach and how you can best protect your personal information.
What information is contained in a data breach?
In addition to Social Security numbers, the hackers also stole names, phone numbers, mailing addresses and email addresses, according to National Public Data.
The law firm that filed the lawsuit, Schubert, Jonkicher & Kolbe, reported that information about people’s biographical details and relatives was also leaked. In total, some 2.9 billion records dating back at least 30 years were stolen.
How to know if your information has been stolen
National Public Data offers the following tips to monitor if your information has been stolen:
- Keep a close eye on your financial accounts, and if you notice any unauthorized activity, contact your financial institution to report the fraud.
- Check your credit report for charges you don’t recognize. You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three U.S. credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) by calling 877-322-8228 or visiting www.annualcreditreport.com.
- Contact one of the big three credit reporting agencies to place a free fraud alert on your credit file. A fraud alert notifies creditors to contact you before opening a new account or making changes to an existing account. The initial alert is good for one year, after which it can be renewed.
According to USA TODAY, cybersecurity firm Pentester has created a tool to access the leaked data and check if your information has been compromised, which can be accessed at npd.pentester.com.
What to do if your information is stolen?
If you notice fraudulent charges or suspect your information has been stolen, National Public Data encourages you to report identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at identitytheft.gov.
Should I freeze my credit?
One way to protect yourself against fraud is to freeze your credit, which limits access to your credit report, making it less likely that identity thieves will be able to open new accounts in your name.
To place a freeze, you’ll need to contact each of the three major credit reporting agencies online, by phone, or by mail. According to the U.S. General Services Administration, credit reports submitted by credit reporting agencies online or by phone must be frozen within one day. Freeze requests sent by mail must be fulfilled within three business days.
The freeze will remain in effect until you ask the credit bureau to temporarily lift or remove it. The credit bureau must lift the freeze within one hour if you request it online or over the phone, and within three business days if you request it by mail.
Here’s how to contact each credit reporting agency:
Equifax
- online: Visit the Equifax Credit Freeze page.
- By phone: Call Equifax at 800-685-1111.
- By mail: Send your request to Equifax, PO Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348. Attach your name, address, Social Security number, and a copy of a document verifying your identity (such as a driver’s license, utility bill, or bank statement).
Experian
- online: Visit the Experian Credit Freeze page.
- By phone: Call Experian at 888-397-3742.
- By mail: Send your request to Experian Security Freeze, PO Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013. Include your name, address, Social Security number and proof of identification.
Trans Union
- online: Visit the TransUnion Credit Freeze page.
- By phone: Please call TransUnion at 888-909-8872.
- By mail: Send your request to TransUnion, PO Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094. Include your name, address, Social Security number, and proof of identification.
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
