AT&T Confirms Security Breach
AT&T confirmed last week that a security breach affected 1,600 customers, putting their personal and financial information at risk. The company stated that an employee had gone against the “strict privacy rules” and accessed sensitive customer information. Information obtained included Social Security numbers, financial information and contact information.
In the wake of recent security issues with companies like Home Depot and Jewel Osco, it seems that this is a common occurrence now. So what does this mean for you as a customer?
There are measures you can take to help protect your financial and personal information. For starters, you should set up transaction notifications so whenever a transaction is made, your bank will send you a text or email. Additionally, don’t provide any sensitive information (like credit cards or Social Security numbers) to websites you’re not familiar with. Smartphones are great because they’re convenient to use, but be careful what information is sent through your phone. In this case with AT&T, the company had an employee disobey the privacy rules which was clearly unexpected. Although companies should have plans for situations like this, often times they don’t and you don’t want your information to be at risk because of it.
AT&T has since contacted all of the affect customers, and said the employee has been fired. Federal authorities are investigating the situation.
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