Millions of Verizon customers have a new worry hanging over their heads

Wireless carriers don’t always sell their services through official channels. They also have a network of certified dealers that provide services on their behalf. One of Verizon’s largest authorized retailers, Russell Cellular, which operates 750 locations across the US, was reportedly hacked.

Employee data was also stolen

Cybercriminals apparently stole 6.3 million customer records from Russell Cellular and listed them on a hacker forum for $1,200. The dataset, totaling 61GB, contains sensitive information such as full names, phone numbers, email addresses, account numbers, and contact details. The record also contains employees’ login credentials and job roles, paving the way for a deeper internal system breach.

Bad actors can use the data to target both customers and employees.

The hackers also uploaded two file samples to back up their claims, which Cybernews investigated and found to be legitimate-looking. Verizon is aware of the potential attack and is investigating the matter to assess its impact. The company will share more information as it becomes available.

According to a Reddit user, all of the customer records were stolen, but Russell Cellular wants to sweep the matter under the rug. Worryingly, the retailer hasn’t even asked employees to reset their compromised credentials.

Always pays to be cautious

To be safe, Verizon customers who have transacted through Russell Cellular should change their login info and enable two-factor authentication. Beyond disregarding phony messages, users should monitor their accounts for unauthorized changes and consider a credit freeze.
That said, it’s common to hear about major telecom carriers or their partners getting hacked, so customers shouldn’t worry too much. Besides, hackers give themselves more credit than due, and often end up exaggerating the extent of the leak.

Are corporate stores any better?

Dealer stores help carriers serve more customers, but they get a bad rep for less stringent security than corporate stores. The alleged Russell Cellular breach might further sour public opinion of them, but it wasn’t too long ago when Verizon’s telecom infrastructure was penetrated, so no entity is truly hack-proof.

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