On July 29, 2019, Capital One Financial Corporation announced that they suffered a data security incident in March of this year [2019]. An unauthorized individual was able to access the sensitive personal data contained in applications for credit products from 2005 to 2019, which could affect approximately 100 million individuals in the U.S.
The personal information that was accessed included:
- Full names
- Physical addresses
- Phone numbers
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- Self-reported income
For some Capital One Financial Corporation customers, additional information stolen may have included customer status data such as credit scores, credit limits, balances, payment history, and fragments of transaction data. For a small portion of applicants, about 140,000 Social Security numbers and 80,000 linked bank account numbers were exposed.
According to the bank and the FBI, the individual who stole the data from Capital One’s network has been apprehended and while there is no evidence that the data was used for fraud or shared with anyone else, their investigation is ongoing.
What Should You Do?
1. As a bank, Capital One holds a large amount of sensitive personal data. At a minimum, you should be regularly monitoring your bank and credit card statements, although that may not alert you to new account applications or other forms of identity theft.
2. Be on the lookout for phishing emails, which may appear to come from a familiar source or use personal information. Be wary of emails or phone calls
Independent Federal Credit Union takes your security very seriously. Please click this link to learn how to protect your identity and review password protection hints and suggestions. Always remember; Independent will never ask you for personal or financial information over the phone, in a text, or in an e-mail. Please always be aware of phishing scams attempting to obtain any personal information from you!
Source: Norton LifeLock ™/Independent Federal Credit Union 2019