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Date: August 15, 2024 at 11:40:04
From: mr bopp, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
URL: https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/4829131-hackers-identify-theft-social-security-usdod/ |
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this sounds pretty serious...from the hill which is a reliable site imo...
Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number: Report
by Rich Johnson - 08/15/24 10:03 AM ET
Information was stolen from National Public Data, say reports
Hackers tried to sell the information, then posted it for free
Freezing your credit files the best immediate safeguard, say experts
(NewsNation) — Public advocates fear a possible tsunami of identity theft could be coming after a hacking group claims it was able to steal nearly 3 billion personal records, including Social Security numbers.
The theft happened in April, according to a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It says the hacking group known as USDoD stole the records from National Public Data, which offers personal information to employers, private investigators and others who do background checks.
USDoD reportedly tried to sell the data for $3.5 million but has now posted most of it for free on an online exchange for stolen personal data. It claims to have 2.9 billion records containing personal data from everyone in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., though those populations add up to roughly 440 million.
Several news sites have examined portions of the data and reported that they appear to be real people’s information. National Public Data has not responded to numerous media requests for comment.
According to the website Bleeping Computer, “Each record consists of the following information – a person’s name, mailing addresses, and Social Security number, with some records including additional information, like other names associated with the person. None of this data is encrypted.”
Experts say the most effective action you can take right now is to freeze your credit files at the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. That will prevent others from signing up for credit cards or opening other financial accounts in your name.
5 tips for protecting your phone while traveling abroad
But if you want to apply for something that requires a credit check, you will need to lift the freeze.
One big warning: don’t respond to an unsolicited email that claims to be from one of the credit bureaus. Experts say it’s probably a scammer claiming to “save” you from the other scammers.
There are also fee-based services that monitor your accounts and monitor the dark web.
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Responses:
[10304] [10268] [10269] [10273] [10274] [10275] [10277] [10278] [10276] [10270] [10271] [10272] |
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10304 |
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Date: September 01, 2024 at 10:18:46
From: georg, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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thanks for the public service announcement ... the cable
channels no longer even pretend to be doing the public a
service ... it's all about ads ... mostly pharma ads
with people marching along to Pretoria ... WEGOVY?
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10268 |
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Date: August 15, 2024 at 13:31:54
From: pamela, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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I've been following the news articles about this- its
supposedly happened in April this year--why are we
hearing about it now???
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Responses:
[10269] [10273] [10274] [10275] [10277] [10278] [10276] [10270] [10271] [10272] |
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10269 |
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Date: August 15, 2024 at 13:48:06
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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that was my reaction..'.seems like a really big deal to me...obviously some "people" did not want it discussed...
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Responses:
[10273] [10274] [10275] [10277] [10278] [10276] [10270] [10271] [10272] |
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10273 |
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Date: August 15, 2024 at 20:38:45
From: pamela, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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was there any msm coverage on this today that you know
of?
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[10274] [10275] [10277] [10278] [10276] |
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10274 |
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Date: August 16, 2024 at 10:59:12
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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Responses:
[10275] [10277] [10278] [10276] |
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10275 |
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Date: August 16, 2024 at 15:27:59
From: pamela, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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I think it odd only you and I are showing any concern
about this. So others here have any input about this?
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Responses:
[10277] [10278] [10276] |
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10277 |
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Date: August 26, 2024 at 17:35:47
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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I’ve been following it.. and when articles suggested ‘freezing’ one’s
credit reports I looked at that too. But you know, my bank provides
identity theft protection, my credit card company provides the same,
sheesh my auto insurance company throws that in as a benefit too. And I
am sure other companies I regularly interact financially with do too.. so I
figured I’d watch, wait and see.
But you know, “they” would have a hard time doing anything wholesale..
so I’m thinking this is going to make the ability of nefarious actors to do
harm harder, not easier.
Btw, I recently bought something overseas with my bank card, used as a
debit card, and evidently someone in the company I dealt with tried using
my card number elsewhere within an hour, and my bank froze the
account immediate. They called me and asked if I and when I said no
they canceled my card number and issued me a new one in the blink of
an eye.
Alls to say I don’t think stealing everyone’s identity will get anyone
anywhere. Maybe I’m naive but at the same time I haven’t heard of harm
coming from the theft.. but we’ll see.
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Responses:
[10278] |
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10278 |
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Date: August 26, 2024 at 19:06:14
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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hope that is the case...mr bill sent some money overseas recently...the bank thought it was weird so they shut down his account, instantly, without even trying to ask him if it was a legit transfer...took a whole bunch of shenanigans to get it all sorted out...banks have gotten really tight since the "patriot" act...sad that there are so many lazy fucks out there that cannot find something better to do with their lives...
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10276 |
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Date: August 16, 2024 at 17:23:33
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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What can I say, pamela? I'm drained dry of adrenaline for
so much anymore at this point... Apparently it's a done
deed, I have no credit nor assets nor pricey identity to
make off with, so not much there for me to react to
personally... Sure do hope there haven't been many who've
been victimized due to this, obviously one would be too
many, but more than noting that I'm not sure what else I
could offer in response... I'm certainly not surprised it
happened...
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10270 |
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Date: August 15, 2024 at 14:24:31
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
URL: https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/4829866-was-your-data-leaked-in-massive-breach-how-to-know-and-what-to-do-now/ |
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Was your data leaked in massive breach?: How to know, and what to do now
by Addy Bink and Alix Martichoux - 08/15/24 4:07 PM ET
Share
Post
(NEXSTAR) — Billions in personal information records may have been exposed in an April data breach, a recent lawsuit has alleged, prompting warnings from identity experts.
A class action lawsuit filed in Florida claims a hacking group was able to access the database of National Public Data (NPD), a background check company that provides access to data “from various public record databases, court records, state and national databases and other repositories nationwide.”
The group made the database, which was said to contain “2,900,000,000 records on United States citizens,” public on the dark web. A purported member reduced that number last week, telling a hacking forum there were almost 2.7 billion records in the data, BleepingComputer reports. They also claimed the data was for residents in the U.S., the U.K., and Canada (which have a combined population of less than 440 million).
Your Social Security number is probably on the dark web. Should you be worried?
NPD has not responded to multiple media requests for information regarding the breach. The company has, however, responded to some who reached out to them via email that it is “aware of certain third-party claims about consumer data and are investigating these issues,” the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. NPD also explained it had “purged the entire database” and deleted “non-public personal information.”
Unfortunately, if your data was part of the alleged brief, that isn’t very helpful now. There are, however, steps you can take to help protect yourself.
Was your information leaked in the breach?
Cybersecurity technology platform Pentester was able to review the data once it became public and create a tool that allows people to search for their information. While the information in the leaked database was not redacted, Pentester has masked personal birth years and Social Security numbers.
If the name, state, and birth year you input match information found in the NPD breach, you’ll see a list of “exposed information.” That includes a name, date of birth, address, phone number, and Social Security number. You’ll also be encouraged to freeze your credit (more on that in a moment).
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If there are no matches found in the breach data, you’ll receive an error notice. But that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down.
You may want try other states you’ve lived in or former names you’ve used, like a maiden name, Richard Glaser, co-founder of Pentester, told Nexstar via email.
“From my experience a lot of the data is old, but a [Social Security number] never changes,” he added.
What to do if your data was leaked
Simple measures, like freezing your credit, can reduce your exposure for these types of crimes of opportunity. That can prevent bad actors from using your Social Security number to take out loans or open new credit cards.
Freezing your credit prevents any new credit, like loans or new credit cards, from being approved, whether it’s legitimate or not. You are able to freeze (and ‘thaw,’ or lift the freeze) your credit report for free with the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
If you think someone is using your Social Security number and creating credit problems for you, you should report it at IdentityTheft.gov, the Social Security Administration says. You’ll go through the steps of putting a fraud alert on your credit reports, alerting the FTC, and possibly filing a police report. From there, you may need to go through several steps of damage control to clear your name.
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While it is widely believed our personal information, like Social Security numbers, is already out there, experts note not everyone who has been victimized in a data breach will end up victimized by identity theft.
“If you’re a high-value individual that maybe has a high net worth or works at a company that they can extort you, you might actually be a real target,” Kyle Hanslovan, CEO of cybersecurity firm Huntress, previously told Nexstar. “For the masses though, the everyday common person, you’re more of a target of opportunity.”
Most people shouldn’t spend too much time worrying about what may happen if their information ends up in the wrong hands. Instead, Hanslovan recommends keeping an eye on your important accounts and making sure you’re prepared to act in case something does go wrong.
“It stinks for privacy, but it kind of normalizes just what’s happening,” Hanslovan said. “It doesn’t make it right, and it definitely doesn’t wave, you know, a company’s true fiduciary responsibilities to protect your data.”
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Responses:
[10271] [10272] |
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10271 |
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Date: August 15, 2024 at 15:40:12
From: pamela, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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Did you ever see the movie, THe Beekeeper? We're in
dire need of one.
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Responses:
[10272] |
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10272 |
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Date: August 15, 2024 at 15:41:47
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hackers may have stolen every Americans’ Social Security number |
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heard of it but have not seen it...
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Responses:
None |
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