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.  Evolve Bank & Trust, a bank with offices in ten states notified its customers on June 26th that the bank had suffered a data breach that compromised customers’ names, birthdates, account information and, most concerning, Social Security numbers.  Two days later three lawsuits seeking class action status were filed in federal courts in Arkansas and Tennessee alleging negligence by the bank. A similar lawsuit was filed last month against Truist Bank related to its data breach.  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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