A massive data breach has compromised the information of millions of people in the US and abroad.
What we know
In august of 2024 National Public Data (NPD) announced a cyberattack during which they suffered the theft of millions of data packs. NPD is a company that specializes in background checks for employers. The thieves have put the information up for sale on the dark web.
The information is that of people –both citizens and residents- of the United States. The compromised data includes:
Name and last name
Date of birth
Addresses, past and present
Social security numbers and tax Identification numbers.
What do experts recommend?
The firth thing to do is find out if you are a victim of the data breach. A well-known cybersecurity firm by the name of Pentester has created a database for the public to check whether they were affected. You will have to enter your first and last name, date of birth and your state of residence in the United States. The search will provide you, in the event of a positive match, with a sample of the data pack that was stolen.
Residents of the tristate area
If you have lived in more than one US state in the past 30 years, we recommend that you search using all the different states where you have lived. Someone on our staff had no match for their current address, but one for a place where they lived over 20 years ago. And while the address is of no importance, the rest of the information is. The point is to find out whether your personal information has been breached.
Does it matter if you live outside of the United States?
It depends. If you are a citizen, then you most likely have a SSN or TIN; the same applies if you have been a resident. For anyone no longer live in the United States, it would be prudent to check on the breached information to check on previous records.
If your information is on the list
The best option is to freeze your credit. With this process you can stop any unauthorized credit requests. This is something that you can request for free from the three credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
When you freeze your credit report, any company or person requesting credit receives the message that your history is not available.
Regardless of whether your data was breached, it is always wise to keep an eye on your credit report. It is also the best way to build credit and prevent identity theft.
You are entitled to one free copy of your credit report, which you can request here.
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