New York Attorney General Letitia James shared advice for consumers who may have been affected by a 2021 T-Mobile data breach, following reports that stolen information was put up for sale on the dark web.
Along with a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, Attorney General James advised all New York residents who believe they were affected by the data breach to take appropriate steps to protect their information from identity theft.
This comes after multiple people received alerts that their information was circulating online following the August 2021 data breach.
In August 2021, T-Mobile reported a massive data breach that compromised the sensitive personal information of millions of current, former and prospective T-Mobile customers. The breach affected more than 53 million people, including more than 4 million New Yorkers. Among other categories of affected information, millions had their names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and driver’s license information compromised.
The company estimates that some seven million customers were affected by this crime.
Recently, a large subset of the information compromised in the leak was found for sale on the dark web, a hidden part of the Internet where web criminals buy, sell and track personal information. Many people received alerts through various identity theft protection services informing them that their information was found online in connection with the breach, confirming that affected individuals are at increased risk of identity theft.
“I have an urgent message for T-Mobile customers and other consumers: be aware of any misuse of your personal information and follow the instructions provided by my office to protect yourself from identity theft,” said Attorney General James. “Information stolen in a massive data breach has fallen into the wrong hands and is circulating on the dark web. The guidance my office offers can help prevent identity theft. I advise all New Yorkers to maintain their financial security by following the guidance my office has established. No consumer should have to deal with the devastating realities of identity theft.”
Attorney General James urges anyone who believes they were affected by the T-Mobile security breach to take the following steps to protect themselves:
- Control your credit: Credit monitoring services track your credit report and alert you whenever a change is made, such as a new account or a large purchase. Most services will notify you within 24 hours of any changes to your credit report.
- Consider placing a free credit freeze on your credit reportNote: Identity thieves will not be able to open a new credit account in your name while the freeze is in effect. You can place a credit freeze by contacting each of the three major credit bureaus:
- Place a fraud alert on your credit report: A fraud alert tells lenders and creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before issuing credit. You can place a fraud alert by contacting any of the three major credit bureaus.
- additional resourcess: If you think you are a victim of identity theft, go to Identitytheft.gov for help reporting and recovering from it, or contact the district attorney’s office to file a complaint with the Office of Internet and Technology or by calling (800) 771-7755.
