FRANKFORT, Ky. — Attorney General Cameron today issued a consumer protection alert, urging Kentuckians impacted by the T-Mobile data breach of August 2021 to take steps to protect their personal information and avoid identity theft. Recently, a large portion of the compromised data was found for sale on the dark web—a hidden portion of the Internet where cybercriminals buy, sell, and track personal information. Many consumers impacted by the data breach have been notified by identity theft protection services regarding the use of their personal information online.
“Data breaches compromise the personal information of Kentuckians and increase the risk of identity theft,” said Attorney General Cameron. “Every Kentuckian impacted by the recent T-Mobile data breach should take the necessary steps to protect their personal information. If you believe that you are the victim of identity theft, report the incident to our office immediately at ag.ky.gov/scams.”
On August 17, 2021, T-Mobile reported a massive data breach, which compromised the name, date of birth, social security number, and driver’s license information of millions of current, former, and prospective T-Mobile customers. The breach impacted more than 53 million individuals, including 452,126 Kentuckians.
Attorney General Cameron’s Office of Consumer Protection urges Kentuckians impacted by the T-Mobile data breach to take steps to protect their personal information and avoid identity theft by:
- Monitoring your credit. Credit monitoring services track your credit report and alert you whenever a change is made, such as a new account or a large purchase. Most services will notify you within 24 hours of any change to your credit report.
- Freezing your credit report. Identity thieves will not be able to open a new credit account in your name while the freeze is in place. You can freeze your credit report by contacting each of the three major credit bureaus:
- Equifax | https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/ +1 (888) 766-0008
- Experian | https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html +1(888) 397-3742
- TransUnion | https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze +1 (800) 680-7289
- Placing a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert tells lenders and creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before issuing credit. You can place a fraud alert by contacting any one of the three major credit bureaus.
Additional resources and tips to avoid identity theft are available on the Attorney General’s website at ag.ky.gov/identity-theft. Suspected identity theft should be reported to the Attorney General’s Office at ag.ky.gov/scams, to local law enforcement, and to the FTC at https://www.identitytheft.gov.
Kentuckians with questions regarding how to protect their personal information following the T-Mobile data breach may contact the Attorney General’s Data Breach Hotline at (855) 813-6508.