PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine credit expert shared advice for consumers after a recent massive data breach, in which billions of personal records data and information were apparently stolen.
A lawsuit filed in Florida accuses the owners of the website National Public Data of being involved in a data breach that occurred in April of 2024, which the company has confirmed in a letter on its website.
"It looks like there are a lot of outstanding questions with this particular issue," Edward Myslik, principal examiner of the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, said. "It appears as though this is people's names, social security numbers, as well as their addresses."
Maine is not directly tied to the lawsuit, but Myslik said Pine Tree State residents can still protect their credit from any data leak with a few simple steps.
"Even if there hasn't been identity theft, it's always good to place what is called a fraud alert on your consumer file," Myslik said.
To place a fraud alert or a security freeze on your credit, you can start by visiting the Federal Trade Commission's website to find its identity theft portal. There, you can find credit bureau contacts of Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Then you can register accounts with each. Myslik said if you have trouble with registering online, you might have to contact each branch by phone.
Even if you find yourself listed in the data leak, Myslik said that doesn't mean it's time to panic.
"Just because somebody's personally identifiable information is out there, it doesn't necessarily mean they are a victim of identity theft. That's a legal term," Myslik said.