CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey urged all state residents who believe they were impacted by the data breach announced by T-Mobile last summer to take appropriate steps to protect their information from identity theft.
Since that data breach was announced in August 2021, a large subset of the information compromised in the breach was recently discovered for sale on the dark web — a hidden portion of the internet where cyber criminals buy, sell and track personal information. Many people subsequently received alerts through various identity theft protection services informing them their information was found online in connection with the T-Mobile breach, confirming that individuals impacted by the breach are at heightened risk for identity theft.
The breach announced by T-Mobile last summer compromised the sensitive personal information of millions of current, former and prospective T-Mobile customers. It impacted more than 53 million individuals, including 68,361 West Virginians. Among other categories of impacted information, millions had their names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and driver’s license information compromised.
Here are a few basic tips for consumers to protect their information and identities:
- Monitor your bank account and credit card statements to detect unauthorized charges.
- Check your credit report for new accounts or creditors you do not recognize. All consumers are entitled to a free annual credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
- 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.
- Place a fraud alert on your credit report. These free alerts last for a year and make it more difficult for a person to open up a line of credit in your name.
If you believe you have been a victim of identity theft, call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 800-368-8808 or file a consumer complaint online at www.wvago.gov.
