By putting a requested SIM card replacement into a burner phone, the hackers could take control of an AT&T customer’s phone, change all of the passwords, and clean out the victim’s financial accounts. The data breach covers tens of millions of AT&T customers. The data stolen in the attack and posted online includes:
- Full names
- Date of birth
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Physical addresses
- 44 Million Social Security Numbers (SSN)
AT&T responded to the news by releasing the following statement: “It is not uncommon for cybercriminals to repackage previously disclosed data for financial gain. We just learned about claims that AT&T data is being made available for sale on dark web forums, and we are conducting a full investigation.”
The wireless provider added, “After analysis by our internal teams as well as external data consultants, we are confident this is repackaged data previously released on the dark web in March 2024. Affected customers were notified at that time. We have notified law enforcement of this latest development.”
If you are an AT&T customer, it is likely that your data was already leaked last year. Still, to be safe, even if AT&T reset your passwords or passcodes last year, you might want to do it again. Set up fraud alerts and change your credentials for financial apps including those you use for banking, stock trading, and your crypto holdings.
