When you walk into a T-Mobile store or apply for a cellular plan online or over the phone, T-Mobile runs a credit check on to make sure you’re good for repayment. But here’s the big news: if you applied between September 1st 2013 and September 16th 2015 you may have had your personal identifiable information… stolen.
Here’s what you need to know:
The problem is here is that over 15 million accounts containing social security numbers were exposed. T-Mobile is the 3rd largest carrier in the US behind Verizon and AT&T so the magnitude of this hack is substantive.
In response, T-Mobile is offering two long years of free credit monitoring services by protectmyID but the ironic thing is that the service being offered is actually owned by Experian which was hacked.
Something isn’t right here.
The full scope of damage is still nebulous but we know data thieves filched sensitive information from Decisioning Solutions which is a subsidiary of Experian.
Even though credit card numbers allegedly weren’t stolen, the carte blanch access to SSNs afford thieves the ability to open new lines of credit under the victims name. Some times attackers will uses stolen SSNs to finance big items in your name, which smashes your credit history and gives the crooks a sweet reward. I wish I could say this isn’t as bad as it sounds but unfortunately social security numbers aren’t the only thing in the hands of bad guys.
In a candid letter to consumers, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said driver’s license numbers and possibly passport numbers were also pilfered in the hack. Experian released a FAQ on exactly what this means and I exhort you to check this out so you can know to know the extent you may be affected. The reason I say this because if you even attempted to apply for a T-Mobile account between September 1st 2013 and September 16th 2015 you’re affected. The good news is that affected customers should be receiving a written letter from Experian in writing.
But I think the prominent concern right now is whether other Experian databases were also compromised in the breach.
Is it possible the server that holds extremely valuable data such as the credit and personal information of over 200 million Americans was also compromised? This would be nothing short of a catastrophe.
What do you think about this breach? Are people going to sue T-Mobile and win? Do you think other databases were compromised? Why are we constantly hearing about new breaches these days?
Let me know in the comments!
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