Following a reported data breach that exposed personal information of more than 70 million current and former AT&T customers leaked on the dark web, the Dallas, Texas-based company recently released information about how it is handling the situation.
“We are reaching out to all 7.6 million impacted customers and, as a safety precaution, have reset their passcodes,” said the company this month. “In addition, we are emailing and mailing letters to individuals with compromised sensitive personal information separately and offering complimentary identity theft and credit monitoring services.”
According to AT&T, customers will receive emails from ATT@message.att-mail.com. On top of the nearly 8 million current customers whose information was compromised, AT&T said last month approximately 65.4 million former account holders were impacted by the breach.
Customers with compromised accounts should have already had their passcodes reset. AT&T also suggests that those who haven’t changed their passcode in the past year updates those codes as a precaution.
Here are the steps:
1. Go to your myAT&T Profile and sign in, if asked.
2. Scroll to My linked accounts.
3. Select Edit for the passcode you want to update.
4. Follow the prompts to finish up.
“Remember to be aware of phishing scams and use caution when you receive email,” the company warned. “To safeguard your personal details, only open links from emails sent from a valid AT&T email address and avoid interacting with shortened unauthenticated links. The safest route is to go directly to the company’s website to log in.”
Beyond the credit monitoring offers, AT&T said its internal teams are working with external cybersecurity experts to analyze the breach. As of April 12, research indicated that the compromised data was from 2019 or earlier and it does not include personal financial information or call history.
“The information varied by customer and account, but may have included full name, email address, mailing address, phone number, social security number, date of birth, AT&T account number, and passcode,” said AT&T.
Going forward, AT&T said it also encourages its customers “to remain vigilant by monitoring account activity and credit reports,” in addition to being aware of possible phishing scams. Anyone who suspects that they have been the victim of identity theft or fraud has the right to file a report with the Federal Trade Commission.