Capital One data breach affects more than 100 million customers

A massive data breach at Capital One Financial Corporation is impacting more than 100 million people in the U.S. and Canada, the company said in a press release.

That would make it one of the 10 largest data breaches ever, according to data from security and risk management watchdog CSO.

Capital One data breach: Who’s affected and what to do if you’re a victim

Capital One says in the release that “there was unauthorized access by an outside individual who obtained certain types of personal information relating to people who had applied for its credit card products and to Capital One credit card customers.”

Based on analysis by the company, that includes around 100 million people in the U.S. and 6 million in Canada.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington State said Monday that Paige A. Thompson, a 33-year-old former technology company software engineer, was arrested for the data theft.

Capital One said it is “unlikely that the information was used for fraud or disseminated by this individual,” but the investigation is ongoing.

According to Capital One, the majority of customers affected were consumers and small business owners who applied for the company’s credit cards between 2005 and early 2019.

“This information included personal information Capital One routinely collects at the time it receives credit card applications, including names, addresses, zip codes/postal codes, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, and self-reported income,” the company said.

Even more disturbing, the information accessed included 140,000 Social Security numbers of U.S. customers and 1 million Social Insurance numbers of Canadian customers, along with 80,000 linked bank accounts of secured credit card customers.

Capital One says it is alerting affected customers “through a variety of channels” and making free credit monitoring and identity protection available to those people.

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The company has set up a Frequently Asked Questions page regarding the incident here.

What to do if you were affected by the Capital One breach

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first massive breach of a financial services company in recent years and it almost certainly won’t be the last. Team Clark’s advice on what to do in these situations is multi-pronged:

With so many criminals out there eager to take advantage of people, there will be more data breaches in the future. But by taking these steps, you can at least protect yourself to some degree.

More stories you might enjoy from Clark.com:

Warning: How criminals steal your banking info over the phone

Criminals are impersonating bank employees and getting customers to hand over their debit and credit card security codes, according to TV station KION.

Police in Carmel, California, are reportedly warning residents about this scam, but the message — and steps on how to stay safe — is relevant to everyone.

Report: New bank scam targets phone users with bank accounts

The scam works like this: A crook calls your phone pretending to be an employee from your bank.

What makes it more believable is that the phone number appears to be from your financial institution because of a technology called caller ID spoofing.

The thief typically tells you that your account has been compromised in some way, KION reports. To fix the issue, the crooks ask for the three-digit code on the back of your credit card.

Do don’t it: That three-digit code, known as a CVV (card verification value) or CVC (card verification code) is an anti-fraud measure.

Those numbers are part of the verification process that merchants need to go through to charge a transaction to your card.

In the event that you do happen to get a phone call from your bank, here are two things you should make sure of:

• Make sure they address you by your full name. They may have the wrong person.
• Make sure they identify themselves at the outset. You need to always know who you’re talking to.

Bank scam: What to do if you get a call

Don’t give out your personal info: The main thing you need to know about dealing with phone calls from a bank is to never divulge any information: Banks don’t ask for personal information over the phone.

Hang up the phone: If someone from a financial institution (or anyone really) asks for your personal information, hang up immediately.

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File a complaint: Visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Complaint Center at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov  or call them at call 1-877-FTC-HELP.

Here are 3 things your bank will never do

If you receive calls from time to time from financial institutions, you should always feel confident in who you’re dealing with.

Here are some red flags that will let you know that you’re dealing with a scammer on the other line:

• They ask for your full Social Security number, bank account or credit card number.
• They ask you to send sensitive bank information via email
• They ask you to go to a third-party site to enter your personal information

Here’s what money expert Clark Howard says about this scam: “Understand this: No one is ever going to call you from your bank or credit union in possession of your credit or debit card number and ask you for either your four-digit PIN or your three- or four-digit code from the card.”

Clark says here’s the #1 way to stay safe from this bank scam:

“You never, ever NOT EVER give someone pretending to be from a bank or credit union that information because that unlocks their ability to pretend to be you and have a field day buying as if they are you.”

Listen to Clark Howard talk about this phone scam

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