Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster alerted Missouri T-Mobile consumers who applied for credit through Experian that they are at risk of having their data compromised, and should consider taking steps to protect their credit. According to Experian's estimate, personal information of 263,000 Missourians was affected by the breach.
According to Koster, an unauthorized party accessed T-Mobile data housed on an Experian server, including consumer information. Affected customers are those who applied for T-Mobile USA postpaid services between September 1 and September 16. Information that was breached includes customers' names, addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth, identification numbers (typically a driver's license number, military ID, or passport number) and additional information used in T-Mobile's own credit assessment.
Consumers who are affected should consider registering for a credit freeze with all three major credit reporting agencies as a precautionary measure, Koster said. Information about credit freezes is available on the Attorney General's website at: http://ago.mo.gov/divisions/consumer/identity-theft-data-security/identity-theft-repair-checklist. Registering for a credit freeze may prevent scammers from taking out a line of credit in your name without your permission. You can lift the credit freeze at any time if you do wish to apply for new credit or a loan. Experian has reported that it will place a credit freeze at no cost to impacted T-Mobile consumers.
Consumers whose credit was checked by Experian for these T-Mobile services and who elect not to place a freeze on their credit file may wish to place a fraud alert on their file with all three credit reporting agencies. Information about fraud alerts is available at consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0275-place-fraud-alert.
Experian and T-Mobile will offer affected consumers two years of credit monitoring and identity protection services at no cost. Credit monitoring alerts consumers to fraud after the fact, so Koster recommends having a credit freeze already in place to deter fraud. Visit ProtectMyID.com/SecurityIncident or call Experian at (866)-369-0422 for more information about the credit monitoring being offered following this breach.
Consumers may already have credit monitoring in place from a previous breach. If so, they could add the Experian/T-Mobile monitoring to extend the coverage period. Consumers should watch for the date when the free time period ends on their free credit monitoring enrollment, especially if they would like to cancel.
Consumers who are victims of identity theft or who experience difficulty placing a credit freeze or fraud alert should file a consumer complaint with the Attorney General's Office at ago.mo.gov/divisions/consumer/identity-theft-data-security/identity-theft-complaint-form