Scam of the day – June 22, 2025 – Aflac Data Breach

by | Jun 21, 2025 | Scam of the day

When you hear the name Aflac, you probably like me hear the quacking duck from their commercials.  Unfortunately, however the recently announced data breach at Aflac is no quacking matter.  Aflac disclosed on June 20th that it had suffered a data breach that may have compromised sensitive personal information held by the company, which offers a range of insurance products to millions of people. According to Aflac, it noticed suspicious activity on its networks on June 12th and is now in the early stages of investigating the extent of the data breach.  Aflac’s press release states that it had not been infected with ransomware, but doesn’t yet know the extent of the data breach which may include social security numbers and other sensitive information.

It is believed that this data breach was the work of the infamous hacking group called Scattered Spider which focuses its efforts on one specific industry at a time, often using ransomware.  In the past it had focused onthe retail sector and now, according to the Google Threat Intelligence Group is targeting the insurance industry. Earlier this month Erie Insurance suffered a data breach attributed to Scattered Spider.

TIPS

Alfac is offering free credit monitoring and identity theft insurance to its customers for two years.  If you are an Aflac customer and wish to get those free benefits, you should call Aflac’s Call Center at 1-855-0305.

Potential victims of this data breach should  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:

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.
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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