Scam of the day – April 28, 2025 – New Data Breach Report Shows Data Breaches Getting Worse

by | Apr 27, 2025 | Scam of the day

Verizon issued its annual data breach report which appears to exemplify my motto that “things aren’t as bad as you think, they are far worse.”  Regardless of how diligent you are in protecting your personal information such as your Social Security number, you are only as safe as the myriad of companies, institutions and government agencies with the worse and most vulnerable security practices that have your personal information.  The report confirmed 12,195 data breaches last year, an increase of 34% over the previous year.

Most notably supply chain attacks whereby the cybercriminal hacks into a third party that may supply software or services to a company or government agency and uses their access to hack into the primary target company, institution or government agency doubled from last year.  An example of such a data breach was the data breach at Hertz that I told you about in April 19th’s Scam of the day.  In that instance Customer information for Hertz was compromised in a data breach involving Cleo Communications, a company that is a third party vendor that provides file transfer services for Hertz.

TIPS

One of the best things you can do to protect yourself from data breaches is to not provide your Social Security number to every company that asks for it as an identifier.  Your doctor has no need for your Social Security number so whenever possible refuse to provide it.

Freezing your credit is actually something everyone should do.  It is free and easy to do.  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:

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.
Victims of the data breach should monitor their credit card statements closely (as we all should do anyway) for indications of credit card fraud.
Finally, be wary of anyone who calls you purporting to help you in regard to the data breach who  asks for personal information in regard to this data breach as that is a favorite tactic of hackers to lure you into providing additional personal information that can lead to your becoming a victim of identity theft.  Also, as always, never click on a link or download an attachment to an email or text message unless you have absolutely confirmed that it is legitimate and don’t provide personal information in response to an email, text message or phone call unless you have absolutely confirmed that the communication was legitimate.

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