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Millions of customer details leaked in the latest data breach – Here’s what you should do
When you sign up for an account, your information is stored by the company or service so you can, or the company, access it as needed. It’s a perfectly normal part of the digital age — handing out our full names, addresses, credit card info and more.
And as long as that information is out there sitting in servers, hackers will try to access it. One unsecured database or shoddy security practice, and millions of people can be exposed. Tap or click here to read how 60 million health records were exposed in a breach.
This week, luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus revealed that its customers’ data was exposed in a hack. Read on to see if your account is part of the breach, what was revealed and what you can do about it.
Details of the data breach
While the announcement is new, the breach isn’t. Neiman Marcus Group says it learned of a May 2020 data breach just this month. The company says it informed law enforcement and is working with cybersecurity firm Mandiant to investigate how it happened.
The personal information accessed in the breach varies for different customers and includes:
- Names
- Contact information
- Credit card numbers and expiration dates (without CVV numbers)
- Neiman Marcus virtual gift card numbers (without pins)
- Usernames and passwords
- Security questions and answers from Neiman Marcus online accounts
The department store chain is sending notifications to 4.6 million online customers. Of these, 3.1 million payment and virtual gift cards were affected, of which 85% were expired or invalid. The company says no Neiman Marcus-branded credit cards were affected.
What to do if you’re part of the breach
Here’s the good news: Neiman Marcus Group implemented a mandatory online account password reset for affected customers who have not changed their passwords since May 2020. Whether or not the company notified you, you should change your Neiman Marcus online account password right now.
This is also an excellent reminder to mix up your security questions. For shopping sites and the like, your best bet is to fib on those security questions. Just make sure you don’t forget the fake answer, or you may not be able to access your account.
Neiman Marcus also set up a call center for this issue. If you have questions or concerns, call 866-571-9725. Have this engagement number ready: B019206.
You can also visit neimanmarcus.com/2021-customer-online-account-info for more information.
Check if you’ve been part of any breach
This is far from the only data breach or leak, and it can be hard to keep up with all of them. The easiest way to check is by running your email address or number against a list of known breached accounts.
The website HaveIBeenPwned shows you if your information has been exposed. Go to the site, enter your email address or phone number, then hit the pwned? button. Tap or click here for more details on how to use this helpful site.
Keep reading:
Web app data leaked: 38M records exposed, including vaccination statuses
Update your PC! Windows users open to a scary new ransomware attack
Tags: breaches, cybersecurity, hacks, HaveIBeenPwned, passwords, personal information, ransomware, ransomware attack, security, security questions
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