Calls, texts information leaked in the AT&T data breach can be used by scammers
NORTH CAROLINA (WTVD) -- Millions of AT&T customers are at risk as the company says hackers accessed records of calls and texts from nearly all of its customers.
After a data breach like this, you don't know exactly what that means for you, but you need to be on guard and protect yourself now that you know your information is in the wrong hands.
In a filing with the SEC, AT&T stated during a cyberattack the data from nearly all of its customers was downloaded to a third-party platform. Based on their investigation, AT&T says the compromised data includes records of their customers' telephone numbers, calls, and texts, the number of times they interacted, and the call duration.
The timeframe of this downloaded data is from May 2022 to October 31st, 2022 as well as on January 2nd, 2023. AT&T says they are working with law enforcement and it's their understanding that at least one person has been arrested.
AT&T says the data in the breach does not contain personal information such as social security numbers, dates of birth, or other identifiable information. But it does admit, that even though the customer's names were not leaked, there are online tools where scammers can link a phone number with a name.
Cassandra Happe with WalletHub says just phone numbers give scammers enough information to do damage. "That really gives fraudsters an opening to potentially target you as far as spoofing and impersonating other people to try to get information from you," Happe adds.
Troubleshooter Diane Wilson has shown you how scams are successful by spoofing law enforcement phone numbers, well-known businesses, and even family and friends. Happe says scammers can easily link your phone to get more information about you.
She says, "Oftentimes your phone number is tied to other more public records that could be found, and link that number to your name which kind of opens up the door there for more potential for fraud and scams."
At this time, AT&T says they do not believe the information is publicly available but admits it has not given notice to those impacted by this breach nor have they provided resources to protect customers' information but said they will. Happe says if a company does offer identity and credit monitoring services after a breach take advantage of it.
"It's best to sign up for credit, monitoring, and go and reset all your passwords and pins, just to make sure it's fresh and clean, and less likely to be compromised." It's also wise to monitor your accounts for unusual activity. This includes monitoring your bank and credit card accounts and reporting any suspicious activity.
AT&T does have more information on the breach and also a way to get the phone number of your calls and texts in the downloaded data. Just click here to access that information.
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