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Former Fifth Third employees stole customer info, gave to outside group
From: Destry Winant <destry () riskbasedsecurity com>
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2020 09:05:02 -0600
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/former-fifth-third-employees-stole-customer-info-gave-to-outside-group/ar-BBZTvHH Authorities are investigating a data breach at Fifth Third Bank and it appears to be an inside job. According to Fifth Third, "a small number of employees" stole personal data from the bank. They didn't specify how many. But it's two or more. "Clearly, when you have multiple people colluding, then it's a real issue,"explained Crystal Faulkner of MCM CPAs & Advisors. She labeled it "big trouble" when information is sold to an outside group. "We're not talking about somebody across the street in the basement," she stated. "These are very large organizations, many of which are outside this country that have figured this out and they're becoming more and more and more sophisticated." Fifth Third acknowledge the stolen information was provided to people outside of the bank. In a written statement, Fifth Third said, "We have notified the limited number of customers who may be impacted. We will provide identity theft monitoring to them at no cost." If you're a victim, consider the race you now may have unwittingly entered. It's tax season. If a sophisticated identity theft ring has acquired your Social Security number and other personal data, they might file under your name and abscond with your refund in a slick bit of government fraud. So, you might want to consider filing as soon as possible. "The only way the IRS knows that they have done something bad and actually filed an illegal return is when you file yours and request a refund, as well," Faulkner commented. It could take months to investigate, determine accuracy and make the victim whole. Fifth Third said it fired the employees suspected of stealing data and is cooperating with authorities in the investigation. If you're one of the victims, experts advise to close your accounts, open new ones, personally contact your credit card companies and alert them about what happened. Experts say identity theft is quite common. According to Fifth Third, incidents like the one they just experienced are rare. "Nonetheless, we are reviewing our current preventative measures to determine how we might further increase their effectiveness," said Danielle Jones, assistant vice president and senior manager of public relations for the bank. _______________________________________________ BreachExchange mailing list sponsored by Risk Based Security BreachExchange () lists riskbasedsecurity com If you wish to Edit your membership or Unsubscribe you can do so at the following link: https://lists.riskbasedsecurity.com/listinfo/breachexchange
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- Former Fifth Third employees stole customer info, gave to outside group Destry Winant (Feb 12)