There was a huge data leak

It turns out that potentially every US, Canada, and UK citizen has had their financial information leaked. Uh oh. What does this mean, and what can people do to protect their info?

What Happened?

National Public Data, a Florida based background-check company was hacked by a group entitled USDoD and many Americans’ name, address, social security number, and more has been breached. The file that was leaked on the dark web has 2.9 billion records. It’s not unlikely that every American, Canadian, and Brit has been affected.

How can there be so many records?

The US, Canada, and UK have a combined population of ~436 million people. How can there be 2.9 billion records? There are a few things that can point towards an increase in the number of records in this leak.

• This data includes USA, Canada, and UK citizens

• The data goes back 30 years, so people who have passed away are likely included

• New line items are created for changes to name or address

  • One person can have multiple line items for different addresses, phone numbers, name changes…

What Can I do?

I can only give advice for US citizens, as I am not familiar with Canadian and UK policies. Placing a freeze on your credit is the most important step. This prevents new bank accounts or lines of credit from being opened. To do so, log into or create accounts with all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) and request a credit freeze.

Create an IRS Pin. This will prevent someone else from filing a tax return in your name. Visit the IRS website to do so.

These are about the only steps you can take besides being vigilant. It’s very frustrating that personal data can be leaked through no fault of your own. It’s also frustrating that a simple number is linked to your entire financial well-being. Unfortunately, there is little accountability for these companies, and the negative effects are largely felt by people that didn’t know these companies exist, rather than the companies themselves.

National Public Data only had a revenue below $5 million last year. Even if they tried to provide compensation for every individual who could have been affected, and they used an entire year of revenue to do so, each person would get ~1 penny.

Conclusion

Data leaks can be stressful, and identity theft is terrifying. Unfortunately, individuals don’t have much power to protect themselves besides freezing credit and creating an IRS Pin. Good luck out there! And I hope this isn’t too scary!