Take Action if You Were Impacted By the 2021 T-Mobile Data Breach

March 4, 2022
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Attorney General of Oregon, Ellen RosenblumAttorney General Rosenblum Alerts Consumers Impacted by the Massive 2021 T-Mobile Data Breach to Take Steps to Protect Your Personal Information.

Attorney General Rosenblum urges all Oregonians who may have been impacted by last year’s massive T-Mobile data breach to take appropriate steps to protect their information from identity theft.

Last August 17th, T-Mobile reported a data breach compromising the sensitive personal information of millions of current, former, and prospective T-Mobile customers. The breach impacted more than 53 million individuals, including more than 500,000 Oregon residents. Among other categories of impacted information, were names, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, and driver’s license information.

Unfortunately, information obtained as a result of a data breach can be used to commit the crime of identity theft. We have come to learn that recently a large subset of the information compromised in the T-Mobile breach was for sale on the dark web—a hidden portion of the Internet where cyber criminals buy, sell, and track personal information. Many individuals have since received alerts through various identity theft protection services informing them that their information was found online in connection with the breach, confirming that impacted individuals are at heightened risk for identity theft.

“Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, including here in Oregon,” said Attorney General Rosenblum. “It’s important to keep a close watch on your personal information. I urge the half million Oregonians who were impacted by the T-Mobile data breach to take the following steps to help protect yourselves from becoming a victim of identity theft.”

Step 1: Monitor your credit. With your permission, credit monitoring services can track your credit report and alert you whenever a change is made, such as a new account or a large purchase. Most services will notify you within 24 hours of any change to your credit report. Credit monitoring is an important form of protection against identity theft as well as an important tool to help you maintain good credit.

Step 2: 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:

Step 3: Place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert tells lenders and creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before issuing credit. You can place a fraud alert by contacting any one of the three major credit bureaus.

Additional Resources. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, go to identitytheft.gov for assistance on how to report it and recover from it—or contact the Oregon Attorney General’s Office for help by calling 1-877-877-9392 or emailing help@oregonconsumer.gov. You can also file a complaint online at www.oregonconsumer.gov.