Florida AG: Customer information exposed in T-Mobile’s data breach seen for sale on dark web

FLORIDA — A consumer alert has been issued for all Floridians whose personal information may have been exposed during a massive T-Mobile data breach last year.

This comes after Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said T-Mobile customer information was recently found for sale on the dark web — a hidden portion of the internet where cybercriminals can buy, sell and track someone’s personal information.

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Action News Jax reported in August 2021 when the wireless carrier launched an investigation after “unauthorized access” was gained to some of its data.

The breach reportedly compromised the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and driver’s license information of millions of current, former and prospective T-Mobile customers, among other consumer information.

Moody is urging those who may have been impacted by the breach to 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,” Moody said.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

If you believe your personal information may have been exposed, Moody advised signing up for an identity-theft protection service.

The Florida AG’s Consumer Protection Division said various identity-theft protection services have notified several people about their personal information being found online in connection with the T-Mobile breach. In the wake of the breach, T-Mobile also offered its affected customers two years of free identity protection services through McAfee’s ID Theft Protection Service.

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She also said to considering freezing your credit reports. Credit freezes are free and prevent identity thieves from opening a new credit account using your personal information. To place a credit freeze, you can contact each of the following credit bureaus:

• Equifax: Visit their website at Equifax.com/Personal/Credit-Report-Services/Credit-Freeze/ or call 1(888) 766-0008
• Experian: Visit their website at Experian.com/Freeze/Center or call 1(888) 397-3742
• TransUnion: Visit their website at TransUnion.com/Credit-Freeze or call 1(800) 680-7289

Consumers can also place a fraud alert on credit reports. That alert will tell 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 credit bureaus mentioned above.

HOW TO REPORT OR RECOVER FROM IDENTITY THEFT

If you need help recovering from identity theft or would like to report it, visit IdentityTheft.gov for more information.

You can also report identity theft to Moody’s office by calling 1-(866)-9NO-SCAM or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com.

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