15 Million T-Mobile Customer Records Stolen in Experian Breach

T-Mobile USA customers who applied for services between September 1, 2013 and September 16, 2015 may have had their sensitive data stolen by hackers who breached the world’s largest consumer credit agency, Experian. It is estimated that 15 million customers are affected. The data accessed includes names, social security numbers, date of birth, home addresses, and various other identification numbers such as passports, military ID, and driver’s licenses.

Those affected will be notified by Experian and two years of free credit monitoring services are being offered. It is recommended that if such a service is offered to you, take advantage of it, even though the protection services will be through Experian’s services. After feedback via social media that people don’t want their credit protection via the same service that was hacked, Experian CEO, John Legere has promised to look for alternatives for this service. However, it is still not a bad idea to take advantage of it while you can.

In addition, security experts advise monitoring your credit reports closely for any suspicious information or incorrect details that appear on them. Every person in the United States that has credit is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. Besides Experian, the others are TransUnion and Equifax. If anything is incorrect on your report, notify the agency immediately to get it resolved.

Credit reports are not perfect records and often they have names attached to them that may not be yours, but perhaps are close to your name. They also may show incorrect former addresses or other information. It may not seem that important to correct these issues, especially if your credit is good. However, it is. These may be merely mistakes, but also may indicate someone has used your information to apply for credit. So if you do find them, get them fixed right away.

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• Accept credit monitoring services immediately

• Call one of the credit bureaus and put a "Fraud Watch" on your SSN. You only need to call one because by law they are required to contact the other two to ensure they also set up a fraud watch on your behalf. It is free, but only lasts for 90 days, so set a reminder to have it refreshed

• Get a free credit report every 4 months. Each credit bureau is required to provide a free credit report once a year. So stagger each of the three so you can spot any fraud. Visit annualcreditreport.com to get started

• Watch for phishing scams; emails designed to look like they are from Anthem that attempt to get you to click on a link, download a file or enter login credentials. The criminals will attempt to deliver malware that can have a number of different affects. Online banking malware is growing faster than any other and this will help a criminal gain access to your financial accounts

• Watch for a noticeable increase in credit card offers. If someone attempts to get a credit card in your name, that information is picked up by all the credit card companies and they will send you offers

Be aware of phishing scams that are sure to show up very soon. Phishing emails that follow a breach generally trick people into believing it is an official Experian email offering free credit monitoring. It is a good idea to not click on any email links or open any attachments unless you are sure they are legitimate. If you are caught up in this breach or any other breach, it is best to navigate directly to the company website for information or to communicate.

Experian does not believe any of the data stolen has been used for inappropriate reasons and the company is continuing to investigate the incident. It was also stressed by Legere that neither T-Mobile’s systems nor networks were part of this particular intrusion. It also did not involve payment card details or bank account information.

T-Mobile has been using Experian to perform the credit checks for potential customers. The intrusion was originally detected on September 15 and so far is known to be limited to only those who applied for T-Mobile services during the specified timeframe above. Experian has stated this incident did not affect its consumer credit database either.

This is just one of many data breaches that has occurred in recent months and Experian is in good company along with JPMorgan Chase and the federal government. It is also the second attack that involves Experian lately. An attack on one of its subsidiaries exposed social security numbers of an estimated 200 million and is still being investigated and Legere tweeted that he will reveal more information when it is available.