Data breaches have become an all-too-common feature of life today and they pose a significant threat to all of us because regardless of how careful we are at protecting our personal data, we are only as secure as the companies and governmental agencies that hold our information.  Today’s data breach involves Verizon which suffered a data breach last September in which sensitive personal data of 63,000 of its employees was compromised.  In a new development, a lawsuit seeking class action status on behalf of the victims of the data breach has been filed in California alleging, among other things, that Verizon neglected to take adequate steps to prevent and detect the data breach.  Verizon did not discover the data breach until almost three months after the company’s computers had been breached.

We are starting to see more and more class actions on behalf of victims of data breaches against companies who may be failing to take proper precautions to protect the data of their employees and customers.  This should be a wake up call for all companies.

TIPS

As for the victims of this data breach, the first thing they should do is freeze their credit if they have not already done so.  Freezing your credit is actually something everyone should do.  It is free and easy to do.  In addition, it protects you from someone using your identity to obtain loans or make large purchases even if they have your Social Security number.  If you have not already done so, put a credit freeze on your credit reports at all of the major credit reporting agencies.  Here are links to each of them with instructions about how to get a credit freeze:

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#verizondatabreach #verizonclassaction #freecreditmonitoring