Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is asking all Hoosiers who believe they were impacted by the data breach announced by T-Mobile to take appropriate steps to protect their information from identity theft.
Rokita
“Protecting and defending Hoosiers against invasive violations like this is an important part of our work,” Rokita said. “I am launching a detailed investigation into this breach and to determine whether T-Mobile had the appropriate safeguards in place to protect personal information.”
On Aug. 17, 2021, 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 across the country. Among other categories of impacted information, millions had their names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and driver’s license information compromised.
Recently, a large subset of the information compromised in the breach was for sale on the dark web – where cybercriminals can 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.
Rokita is asking any Hoosiers 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: 1-888-766-0008
- Experian: 1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
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.
Contact Attorney General Rokita. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, visit in.gov/attorneygeneral or call 1-800-382-5516. For additional tips, you can also visit identitytheft.gov, a site maintained by the Federal Trade Commission.