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In late February, Financial Business and Consumer Solutions, Inc. ("FBCS") discovered it had fallen victim to a data breach that exposed the personal information of nearly 2 million individuals for over a week. According to the report filed to the Attorney General of Maine, FBCS reported the breach on February 26, 2024, after it detected unauthorized activity within its computer network.
Once the company realized its system had been accessed by a third party, it claims to have taken immediate steps to secure the impacted environment and launched an investigation. FBCS claims it was able to determine the full nature and scope of the incident in cooperation with law enforcement and third-party computer forensics specialists.
In the report FBCS provided to the authorities, it provided a brief rundown of its internal investigation of the breach, which explained its network was subject to unauthorized access between February 14, 2024, and February 26, 2024. During the time of the breach, the unauthorized party was able to view and/or access confidential consumer information.
According to the data breach notification sample letter, the information the third-party entity could have accessed during the exposure period includes individuals:
- Account information
- Date of birth
- Driver's license number or ID card
- Full name
- Social Security Numbers
After the investigations were completed, the FBCS undertook a comprehensive review of the data at risk to assess whether any sensitive information could be affected and to whom it related. On April 4, 2024, it began notifying its corporate clients regarding the breach. Later that month, on April 26, it sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident.
In response to the breach, FBCS is providing access to free credit monitoring services for 12 months through CyEx for those individuals whose personal information was potentially affected by this incident. CyEx is a tech that specializes in assisting insurance companies, law firms, settlement administrators, and company owners in responding to data breaches.
In addition to the free credit monitoring services, FBCS is providing impacted individuals with guidance on how they can stay better protected against identity theft and fraud. Individuals who suspect their information has been tampered with can also seek guidance on how to report identity theft or fraud to their credit card company and/or bank.
Financial Business and Consumer Solutions, Inc. is a nationally licensed and bonded collection agency offering pre-charge off, early out, and third-party collection services for its clients. FBCS was founded in 1982 as Federal Bond Collection Services, changing its name in 2014 to Financial Business and Consumer Solutions. The FBCS employs more than 115 people in 2023 and reported approximately $24 million in annual revenue.
No ransomware groups have claimed responsibility for the attack on Financial Business and Consumer Solutions. If your information has been compromised due to the FBCS data breach, do not hesitate to contact an attorney today.
Help Keep Your Data Protected From Hackers
Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. For more frequent credit monitoring, Credit Karma offers its customers free daily access to their credit reports, suspicious activity alerts, and other financial protective services. If you discover activity on your accounts, contact the Federal Trade
Commission, your state's Attorney General's office, or law enforcement to report the incident.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, those who are victims of fraud have the right to be informed the information in their credit file has been used against them. Consumers also have the right to place a "credit freeze" on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information on the credit report without the consumer's express authorization. A credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent.
For more information about data breaches and how you can protect yourself, click here or head to the FTC's website at www.identitytheft.gov. If you want to learn more about the Financial Business and Consumer Solutions breach, or if you believe your personal information was accessed, contact a Morgan & Morgan data breach attorney today.
Speaking with an experienced attorney can help you better understand the scope of your situation and what legal options you have to fight back after a company has failed to keep your personal data safe from third-party hackers.