HOUSTON — It’s a massive data breach impacting millions of customers. AT&T is supposed to notify you, if your personal information has been compromised.
Pay attention to your account passcode. That’s what was compromised. AT&T said this breach impacts not just current, but also former customers.
“Sadly, it’s almost commonplace right now," said Michael Garfield, also known as 'The High Tech Texan.'
Millions of AT&T customers are getting the message dated March 30, saying there was "a data set released on the dark web approximately two weeks ago.”
“This one is interesting because there’s a lot of people going, ‘I’m not an AT&T customer now.’ This particular one, which has information from 2019 and before, is not for current customers," Garfield said. "It’s for those who had AT&T cell and data service back in the day.
According to AT&T, 7.6 million current customers and 65.4 million former account holders are impacted. When we looked up what information was compromised, we found social security numbers, account passcodes, and other personal information were at risk.
What is AT&T doing for customers? It’s giving people impacted one year of credit monitoring. It’s through Experian’s Identity Works. You have to enroll by Aug. 30.
“If your information has been compromised, AT&T should contact you via email or a regular piece of mail. If not, there are some websites out there where you can go and put your email in and see if your information was compromised," Garfield said.
As part of that package to help impacted customers, you will also have an insurance policy of up to $1 million for identity theft. You do have to enroll by the Aug. 30 deadline to get that benefit.
AT&T suggested all customers sign into their account and regularly change their passcode. They recommend doing it at least once a year.
One thing you can do is get a credit report done at least once a year. You can get it for free here.
If you have a problem and need help, email GraceCanHelp@khou.com, call (713) 521-HELP or fill out the form below.