TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Consumer data exposed during last year’s massive T-Mobile data-breach is now being found for sale on the dark web. Attorney General Ashley Moody is urging all Floridians who may be affected by the breach to take appropriate steps to protect personal information from identity thieves.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “It is extremely important that consumers who had their personal information exposed during last year’s T-Mobile data breach take immediate action to secure and protect their identities. A large subset of the information is being sold on the dark web, increasing the likelihood that the data breach victims could have their identities stolen and personal finances compromised.”
Last August, T-Mobile reported a massive data breach involving sensitive information of millions of current, former and prospective T-Mobile customers. The breach impacted more than 53 million individuals, including more than 4 million Floridians. This breach compromised consumers’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and driver’s license information, among other consumer information.
Recently, a large subset of the information in the breach was found being offered for sale on the dark web—a hidden portion of the internet where cybercriminals can buy, sell and track personal information. Various identity-theft protection services notified many individuals of personal information found online in connection with the T-Mobile breach.
Attorney General Moody urges anyone who had information compromised by the T-Mobile breach to take the following steps:
- Sign up for an identity-theft protection service. In the immediate wake of the breach, T-Mobile offered two years of free identity protection services through McAfee’s ID Theft Protection Service to anyone affected.
- Consider placing a free credit freeze on credit reports. Identity thieves will not be able to open a new credit account in the consumer’s name while the freeze is in place. Consumers can place a credit freeze by contacting each of the three major credit bureaus:
— Equifax
Visit: Equifax.com/Personal/Credit-Report-Services/Credit-Freeze/ or call 1(888) 766-0008
— Experian
Visit: Experian.com/Freeze/Center or call 1(888) 397-3742
— TransUnion
Visit: TransUnion.com/Credit-Freeze or call 1(800) 680-7289
- Place a fraud alert on credit reports. A fraud alert tells lenders and creditors to take extra steps to verify a consumer’s identity before issuing credit. Fraud alerts can be placed by contacting any one of the three major credit bureaus.
- Visit T-Mobile’s website. T-Mobile’s online safety and identity-theft protection webpage is dedicated to help consumers learn more about common mobile fraud schemes and safety tips. To access the website, click here.
For assistance on how to report and recover from identity theft, visit IdentityTheft.gov for more information. Identity theft can also be reported to Attorney General Moody’s office by calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.
