Scam of the day – October 23, 2024 – Brazil Police Arrest Hacker Responsible for Largest Data Breach

by | Oct 22, 2024 | Scam of the day

In August 15th’s Scam of the day I told you about the massive data breach  at National Public Data, a prominent data broker company used by other companies for background checks.  Last April a cybercriminal who we now know to be Luan Goncalves who allegedly did this and other data breaches using the name USDoD claimed to have stolen personal data of 2.9 billion people in the United States, the UK and Canada and was offering the data for sale for 3.5 million dollars on the dark web, that part of the Internet where criminals buy and sell goods and services. He later released  the data for free on the dark web.  The data included sensitive personal information including names, birth dates, phone numbers and, of most concern, Social Security numbers of 272 million people.

Recently Goncalves was arrested by Brazilian Federal Police, however, Goncalves claims he was only the broker for the stolen records and that it was another hacker who used the name SXUL who actually did the cyberattack.

TIPS

Regardless of whether Goncalves was the primary hacker or not, the question for all of us is how do we respond to data breach after data breach.

The first step is freezing your credit is 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:
Also, you should regularly monitor your credit reports at the three major credit bureaus.

Everyone also should monitor their credit reports regularly for indications of identity theft.  The three major credit reporting agencies now provide free weekly access to your credit reports so you can monitor your credit reports easily on your own.  Here is the only link to use to get your free credit reports. https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action
Some scammers have websites that appear to offer “free” credit reports, but if you read the fine print, you often may find that you have signed up for unnecessary services.

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