You may not have heard, because for some reason these major events are rarely covered: T-Mobile had a massive data breach. They’ve confirmed that over 50 million people are affected, but some reports believe that it’s double that number, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. This breach wasn’t just names and emails either, it included first and last names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license information. But there’s good news! No credit card or debit card numbers per T-Mobile. Sorry while I roll my eyes.
Hackers have all the information needed to steal someone’s identity, but go-ahead T-Mobile and count this a “win” for securing card numbers of people who can lock/change/replace them in a matter of seconds. To make things worse it didn’t just affect T-Mobile customers; the hackers pulled data from credit checks, which means if you attempted to use T-Mobile but decided to go with another service, you’re likely compromised. Another concern this created is a SIM Swapping liability to current customers. We can dive deeper into SIM Swapping in a later blog but know that it’s not good. If someone takes control of your phone number, they are able to bypass multifactor authentication and unlock your secured accounts (like banking, credit cards, etc).
So now what? Here are 3 ways I’ve found to help secure your identity from this article that explains the hack in more detail.
- Change Your Password
Start by logging in to your T-Mobile account and changing your password to something secure. Even if user names and passwords weren’t stolen, T-Mobile allows users to access their accounts with their phone numbers. Remember, if a hacker has your phone number, it’s bad news.
- Freeze Your Credit Report
Put a freeze on your credit reports. All three of the major credit bureaus allow you to place a lock on your reports so that if someone attempts to open credit in your name, they will be blocked and you will be notified. T-Mobile also says it’s giving its users two years of identity protection from McAfee, which serves a similar purpose.
- Protect Your Account
Finally, T-Mobile does have an “Account Takeover Protection” service that you can add to your account for free. It prevents someone from transferring your phone number to another carrier without your authorization.
This should be front page news everywhere, but it’s not. So take it from this blog, and make yourself more secure.