Freezing your credit is the first step to avoid identity theft, expert says. Here’s what to know
So far, 2024 has been a huge year for data breaches.
There had already been more than 1 billion personal records compromised before the National Public Data breach that has been making headlines, according to Michael Bruemmer, head of global data breach resolution at consumer credit reporting company Experian.
National Public Data, a background check company, was alleged to have made 2.9 billion records vulnerable in a recent lawsuit. The company has said the actual number of records exposed is much lower, around 1.3 million.
The breach, however, may be bigger than the company is reporting, according to Bruemmer, based on the data Experian has mined from the breach.
National Public Data did not respond to requests for comment from CNBC.
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“It’s a big deal,” Bruemmer said, and it follows other recent sizeable breaches from Change Healthcare, AT&T and Ticketmaster.
Stolen data typically ends up on the dark web, where hackers will dump the information and often attempt to resell it.
The dark web is a part of the internet made up of hidden sites you can’t find through conventional search engines. Unlike credit files, which can be disputed and updated, information on the dark web can’t be brought back or deleted.
“Once it’s out there, it stays,” Bruemmer said.