Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is urging residents who believe they were impacted by the data breach announced by T-Mobile in August 2021 to take appropriate steps to protect their information from identity theft. On Aug. 17, T-Mobile reported a massive data breach compromising the sensitive personal information of millions of current, former, and prospective T-Mobile customers. The breach impacted more than 53 million individuals, including more than 1.1 million Michigan residents. Among other categories of impacted information, millions had their names, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, and driver’s license information compromised.
Nessel is involved in a multistate coalition of attorneys general currently examining the breach and whether T-Mobile had appropriate safeguards in place to protect personal
information.
Recently, a large subset of the information compromised in the breach was for sale on the dark web—a hidden portion of the Internet where cyber criminals buy, sell, and track personal information. Many individuals have since received alerts through various identity theft protection services informing them that their information was found online in connection with the breach, confirming that impacted individuals are at heightened risk for identity theft.
Nessel is reissuing her Data Breaches: What To Do Next Consumer Alert with more information related to protecting your personal information in response to the latest development.
“Anyone who received notice from T-Mobile related to this breach should be taking steps to combat potential identify theft,” Nessel said. “While we can’t stop bad actors from accessing your information – especially once it ends up for sale on the dark web – there are ways to protect yourself if your information was compromised.”
She urges anyone who believes they were impacted by the T-Mobile breach to take the following steps to protect themselves:
• Monitor 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 change to your credit report.
• Consider placing a free credit freeze on your credit report. Identity thieves will not be able to open a new credit account in your name while the freeze is in place. You can place a credit freeze by contacting each of the three major credit bureaus:
- Equifax, www.equifax.com, 888-766-0008
- Experian, www.experian.com, 888-397-3742
- TransUnion, www.transunion.com, 800-680-7289
• 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 one of the three major credit bureaus.
• Additional Resources. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website for assistance on how to report it and recover from it—or contact the Attorney General’s Office for help.
You can learn more about the State’s identity theft resources on the Department of Attorney General website at www.michigan.gov/ag.
Consumer complaints can be filed online at the attorney general’s website, or anyone with questions can call 877-765-8388.
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