As a Result of This Massive Data Breach, Your Credit Information May Have Been Compromised.
If you received a letter from a company called 700Credit, don’t ignore it. Your data may have been compromised as a result of a massive data breach that affected over 5.8 million consumers, and you should take the necessary steps to protect it.
700Credit provides credit and identity verification services to more than 21,000 auto, RV, motorcycle, and marine dealerships in the U.S., so if you purchased a car and applied for dealer financing—or even pre-qualified or pre-approved for it—your information may have been affected.
What happened to 700Credit?
According to documents filed by the company with the Maine Attorney General’s Office, 700Credit’s systems were hacked between October 25 and 27. The attackers stole personal information about 700Credit dealership customers, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers (SSNs), and dates of birth.
As BleepingComputer reports , this data leak was actually the result of a system compromise in July at one of 700Credit’s 200 integration partners. Attackers were able to access the API used to obtain consumer data, and a security vulnerability in the API allowed them to steal information from 700Credit.
What you need to do
If you received a data breach notification from 700Credit, please read it carefully. 700Credit offers affected consumers 12 months of credit monitoring and identity restoration through TransUnion’s Cyberscout service. To register, please visit the URL provided in the notification and enter the unique activation code. You have 90 days from the date of receipt to complete the process.
700Credit plans to begin notifying individuals starting December 22.
In addition to using free credit protection, you should take the usual precautions to protect your identity :
-
Freeze your credit report with all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion).
-
Set up a fraud alert on your credit report. You only need to do this with one credit bureau, and it will apply to all three.
-
Closely monitor your financial accounts for suspicious transactions, as well as your credit history. Keep in mind that if your credit is frozen, fraudsters will be unable to apply for new loans in your name.
-
Request an IP PIN from the IRS to prevent others from filing your tax return using your Social Security number.
-
Practice digital hygiene, such as using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication .
A data breach is irreversible, but you can (and should) take steps to minimize the damage.