700Credit Data Breach Exposes Data of 5.8 Million Car Dealership Customers

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This article should interest anyone who has ever purchased a vehicle or completed any paperwork at a dealership. 700Credit is one of the companies that provide dealerships with information regarding customers' credit levels. Unfortunately, 700Credit has recently been the victim of a data breach that impacted approximately 5.8 million customers.

What Is 700Credit and What Happened?​

700Credit operates behind the scenes for car dealerships, helping dealerships to manage both the credit checking process and customer data entry. As a result, many customers are completely unaware that their credit-related information is being transmitted through a third party.

Unfortunately, hackers were able to infiltrate 700Credit's database, compromising a large amount of customer credit score data. Once data is out in the public domain, it can lead to negative consequences for the individual to whom the data belongs.

What Information Was Compromised?​

In summary, 700Credit reports that the customer information stolen during the data breach includes the following:

• Customer full name.
• Email address for all known customers.
• Telephone number for all known customers.
• Date of birth for all known customers.
• Driver's license number for all known customers.

The good news is that 700Credit reported that Social Security numbers and bank account details were not compromised during the breach. However, there are still opportunities for persons who may have access to the stolen customer credit score information to use it to commit criminal acts.

Why Is This Serious?​

Millions of average people have been affected by this breach. Buying a car provides a sense of security, therefore, no one thinks their information could possibly be compromised. Scammers will be able to use driver's license numbers that have been compromised by the breach to commit fraud more easily. Have you ever received a phone call that was so invasive it made you feel uncomfortable?

What Should Customers Do?​

If you recently purchased a motor vehicle, please follow the steps below to protect yourself from having your identity stolen. Please be cautious of what you provide via email or the telephone. Review your credit report for any suspicious activity. Use credit monitoring services to be notified when there is a problem with your credit report. And do not give any additional personal information other than what is requested.

Final Thoughts​

The breach at 700Credit illustrates how easily personal data can be shared between companies that a consumer has never done business with. A small amount of vigilance now is far better than trying to deal with fraud committed by scammers down the road.