T Mobile Hack: Data of 15 Million Stolen

The German holding company, T Mobile hack took place through its credit reporting agency Experian. Private information of 15 Million people has been stolen. Data includes social security numbers, addresses and phone numbers.

T-Mobile is using Experian to process its credit applications and check the credit of consumers applying for phone plans and financing for devices. As we are aware the most endangered customers are those who signed up for T-Mobile from September 1, 2013 to September 16, 2015.

T-Moblie CEO John Legere has offered its customers two years of credit monitoring service with the following letter:

I’ve always said that part of being the Un-carrier means telling it like it is. Whether it’s good news or bad, I’m going to be direct, transparent and honest.

We have been notified by Experian, a vendor that processes our credit applications, that they have experienced a data breach. The investigation is ongoing, but what we know right now is that the hacker acquired the records of approximately 15 million people, including new applicants requiring a credit check for service or device financing from September 1, 2013 through September 16, 2015. These records include information such as name, address and birthdate as well as encrypted fields with Social Security number and ID number (such as driver’s license or passport number), and additional information used in T-Mobile’s own credit assessment. Experian has determined that this encryption may have been compromised. We are working with Experian to take protective steps for all of these consumers as quickly as possible.

Obviously I am incredibly angry about this data breach and we will institute a thorough review of our relationship with Experian, but right now my top concern and first focus is assisting any and all consumers affected. I take our customer and prospective customer privacy VERY seriously. This is no small issue for us. I do want to assure our customers that neither T-Mobile’s systems nor network were part of this intrusion and this did not involve any payment card numbers or bank account information.

Experian has assured us that they have taken aggressive steps to improve the protection of their system and of our data.

Anyone concerned that they may have been impacted by Experian’s data breach can sign up for two years of FREE credit monitoring and identity resolution services at www.protectmyID.com/securityincident.Additionally, Experian issued a press release that you can read here, and you can view their Q&A at Experian.com/T-MobileFacts.

T Mobile’s team is also here and ready to help you in any way we can. We have posted our own Q&A here to keep you as informed as possible throughout this issue.

At T Mobile, privacy and security is of utmost importance, so I will stay very close to this issue and I will do everything possible to continue to earn your trust every day.

After the T Mobile hack, customers will probably don’t trust Experian anymore and until a substitution is offered by the company, they can check their credit reports for free at www.annualcreditreport.com in order to monitor  bills and charges. This service will also allow them to find out whether private information has been used maliciously.

According to the latest information, T Mobile hack took place on Experian’s servers and the breach is under investigation. Hopefully, more details will emerge soon. Stay tuned and subscribe to Security Zap for latest updates.

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