National Public Data breach: Hackers access private information of 2.9 billion people

A background check company was hacked and now the information of almost 3 billion people is up for sale on the dark web.

Florida-based Jerico Pictures Inc., which runs National Public Database, also known as NPD, was hacked according to a press release from Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP, the company investigating the breach.

The company, which represents consumers in class action lawsuits against corporations, said that “USDod,” a cybercriminal group, got into NPD’s data in April and took the personal information that had been collected. The database compiling the information on 2.9 billion people was offered on the dark web for $3.5 million.

The data consists of names, address histories, relatives and Social Security numbers and goes back about 30 years.

NPD has not confirmed the breach or what was taken, Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe said.

The other issue is that people don’t reach out to NPD to provide their personal information, so they may not know that their data has been taken.

A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division, on behalf of Christopher Hofmann who said he received a notification from his identity theft protection service provider last month that his data was on the dark web due to a data breach, Bloomberg Law reported. The lawsuit names Jerico Pictures doing business as National Public Data as the defendant.

CNET provided tips if you find that your data has been stolen:

• First, change your password for the account that was breached.
• Then watch for phishing and smishing.
• Also, subscribe to an identity theft protection service. It will run between $7 and $15 a month for an individual, but there are family plans typically available.
• You can freeze your credit with the big three credit reporting companies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It is free to freeze your credit.
• Finally, watch your credit reports weekly from each company. You can also subscribe to a credit monitoring service.

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