{"id":84794,"date":"2021-08-19T10:41:40","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T14:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/?p=84794"},"modified":"2021-08-19T10:44:21","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T14:44:21","slug":"massive-t-mobile-data-breach-personal-info-including-social-security-numbers-of-over-40-million-people-have-been-hacked-heres-how-to-protect-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/?p=84794","title":{"rendered":"Massive T-Mobile Data Breach: Personal Info Including Social Security Numbers of Over 40 Million People Have Been Hacked! Here’s How To Protect Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hackers have found their way again into T-Mobile\u2019s systems, the\u00a0fourth reported breach\u00a0of the company\u2019s data since early 2020. This time, the haul included sensitive personal information associated with\u00a0about 48 million people,\u00a0most of whom were former or prospective customers of the self-styled \u201cun-carrier.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Here is a breakdown of what happened, the risks you might face and how you can protect yourself against them.<\/span><\/p>\n

What information was taken?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

According to the company, the stolen data included names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and driver\u2019s license information. In most cases, the company said, \u201cno phone numbers, account numbers, [personal identification numbers], passwords, or financial information were compromised.\u201d However, some 850,000 customers with prepaid accounts had their names, phone numbers and account PINs exposed, T-Mobile revealed.<\/span>
\nHackers started\u00a0offering the data\u00a0for sale last weekend, according to security researcher Brian Krebs, who predicted that\u00a0it would all wind up online\u00a0soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the potential number of people affected is huge, by T-Mobile\u2019s count it represents less than half the company\u2019s\u00a0current 105 million customers. T-Mobile has said it will notify the customers whose data was exposed and provide two years of identity theft protection service for free from the security company McAfee.<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the risks?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There have been so many data breaches at so many companies over the years, some security experts say that much of the information exposed by T-Mobile is probably already available on the dark web. But that doesn\u2019t mean you should just shrug off what happened. Those whose data were exposed face greater risks of identity theft, phishing scams and other forms of fraud, Krebs warned.<\/span>
\nSocial Security numbers are widely used by the federal government, banks, investment companies, government benefit programs and insurers to verify identity. Your stolen SSN can be used to open fraudulent credit card accounts, divert or\u00a0fraudulently collect\u00a0benefits and commit workplace fraud, among other forms of deceit. Throw in your name, birth date and driver\u2019s license number, and it\u2019s exponentially easier for someone to pretend to be you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Identity thieves could use that information to target both you and the banks, insurers and other companies you do business with. For example, they could use it to make phishing emails seem more realistic, helping to persuade you to give up additional sensitive information such as a password or PIN. Or they could use it to dupe your bank into letting them change the password on your account, giving them access to your money.<\/span>
\nFor those whose phone numbers were also exposed, there\u2019s at least one more malign possibility:\u00a0a SIM-swap attack. That\u2019s where someone persuades your mobile phone company to transfer your number to a different device, which he or she then uses to try to break into the accounts that you\u2019ve tied to your phone number. It\u2019s increasingly common for people to use their mobile numbers as a way to verify their identity \u2014 for example, when they log into their online banking account, or when they want to reset their password. But that convenience can backfire if your number is hijacked, then used to impersonate you online.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you protect yourself?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The single best thing to do is to\u00a0put a freeze on your credit files<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0which will prevent anyone from opening a new account. It\u2019s free to place a freeze and to lift it for your own needs. But you have to contact each of the\u00a0three major credit bureaus\u00a0individually, which you can do online. Krebs also suggests freezing the credit files maintained by a handful of smaller, specialized agencies. You should also check your credit score regularly, which is a good way to detect fraud after it happens.<\/span><\/p>\n

Credit- and identity-monitoring services, which typically carry a monthly fee, can also help reveal the work of identity thieves. They provide tools to prevent you from phishing and other forms of hacking combined with scanning services that look for your Social Security number or email address in places online where it doesn\u2019t belong.<\/span>
\nMeanwhile, T-Mobile has set up a website<\/span><\/a>\u00a0suggesting more steps\u00a0people can take to guard against fraud. Anyone with a smartphone would be wise to take them:<\/span><\/p>\n

Create a PIN\u00a0for your mobile phone account to provide an extra layer of security against unauthorized changes in your account, such as a malicious SIM swap. If you\u2019re a T-Mobile customer and you have a PIN, set a new one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Activate T-Mobile\u2019s \u201caccount takeover protection\u201d feature, which an extra layer of protection on top of the PIN. Verizon goes further,\u00a0automatically blocking SIM swaps\u00a0by shutting down both the new device and the existing one until the account holder weighs in with the existing device.<\/span><\/p>\n

Change the password you use to get into your mobile phone account online. Changing passwords periodically is a good practice for all your accounts. And if you have trouble remembering dozens of passwords, try a\u00a0password manager app\u00a0that can keep track of them for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the plus side, two-factor authentication is becoming the standard online, and that\u2019s improving security across the web. But too many sites encourage you make that second factor a text to your phone number, which encourages SIM swap fraud. Wherever possible, use an\u00a0authentication app\u00a0instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: LA Times<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hackers have found their way again into T-Mobile\u2019s systems, the\u00a0fourth reported breach\u00a0of the company\u2019s data since early 2020. This time, ….. Get This Deal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":62717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-84794","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tjb-blog"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84794"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84794\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84796,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84794\/revisions\/84796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}