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The Frightening Truth About Identity Theft - 107+ Major Breaches In 2018

What is the scary truth? It's that it keeps happening and the breaches are getting bigger. It also appears to be nonstop at this point.

I know I keep harping on this whole identity theft/data protection thing, but as I dig more deeply into the research, I can’t help but continue to sound the alarm and encourage our clients, subscribers, friends and family to make sure they’re protected. I find it’s absolutely outrageous what’s going on out there.

In 2017, the world saw more data breaches than any year prior. Most noteworthy, on December 20th, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) reported that there were 1,293 total data breaches, compromising more than 174 million records. That’s 45% more breaches than 2016. Did this disturbing trend continue in 2018?

I'll go into this more below, but I wanted throw in a plug for my the ID theft insurance provider I've used for years. I had an ID theft debacle back in 2011 and it would have been MUCH worse had I not had an identity theft insurance policy in place.

I know, like, trust, use and recommend Identity Force as my identity theft insurance provider.

 

The Ridiculous 2018 Data Breach List

In 2018 some of the largest data breaches to date including Marriott, Dunkin' Donuts and Under Armour. Here’s a  list from 2018 for you to ingest. 

Take a second to try and absorb the gravity of just how big this list is and how it’s growing. I was astounded to find Lifelock on this list at number 46! Aren't they supposed to be protecting us?!

 

  1. VTech
  2. Jason’s Deli
  3. Aetna
  4. CarePlus
  5. Partners HealthCare
  6. FedEx
  7. BJC Healthcare
  8. St. Peter’s Surgery & Endoscopy Center
  9. Orbitz
  10. ATI Physical Therapy
  11. Under Armour
  12. Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor
  13. Panera Bread
  14. Inogen
  15. Unity Point Health
  16. SunTrust Banks
  17. City of Goodyear
  18. Chili's
  19. Rail Europe
  20. Nuance Communications
  21. University at Buffalo
  22. LifeBridge Health
  23. Aultman Health Foundation
  24. TicketFly
  25. MyHeritage
  26. Dignity Health
  27. Coinrail
  28. Chicago Public Schools
  29. Bithumb
  30. Med Associates
  31. Task Rabbit
  32. Click2Gov - Midwest City
  33. Exactis
  34. Ticketmaster
  35. Adidas
  36. Timehop
  37. Polar Fitness Trackers
  38. Macy’s 
  39. US Air Force
  40. Nashville Metro Public Health
  41. UMC Physicians 
  42. (UMCP)
  43. LabCorp
  44. Boys Town National Research Hospital
  45. ComplyRight
  46. Lifelock??? - This one was shocking to me!
  47. UnityPoint Health (2)
  48. Reddit
  49. TCM Bank
  50. SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital
  51. Adams County, WI
  52. MedSpring Urgent Care
  53. Instagram
  54. Augusta University
  55. Fortnite
  56. Eastern Maine Community College
  57. Legacy Health
  58. Animoto
  59. Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen
  60. Sitter
  61. T-Mobile
  62. Air Canada
  63. mSpy
  64. Orrstown Bank
  65. Foosackly's
  66. British Airways
  67. GovPayNow(dotcom)
  68. MongoDB Server
  69. Newegg
  70. Independence Blue Cross
  71. SHEIN
  72. Chegg
  73. Facebook
  74. Toyota
  75. Apollo
  76. Central Main Power
  77. Google+
  78. Department of Defense
  79. US Center For Medicare & Medicaide Services (CMS)
  80. Cathay Pacific
  81. Jones Eye Clinic
  82. Raley's
  83. Tomorrowland
  84. HSBC Bank
  85. Canada Post
  86. Huntsville Hospital
  87. Bankers Life
  88. Nordstrom
  89. Health First
  90. US Postal Service (USPS)
  91. Vovox
  92. Amazon
  93. Atrium Health
  94. ElasticSearch
  95. Dunkin'Donuts
  96. Marriott
  97. Signet Jewelers
  98. Quora
  99. Google+ (2)
  100. City of Topeka
  101. Baylor Scott and White Medical Center - Frisco
  102. Facebook
  103. Wright County, Minnesota
  104. University of Vermont Health Network - Elizabethtown
  105. Warby Parker
  106. Sand Diego Unified School District
  107. BevMo!

My jaw just dropped as I read this list (which can be found over at: https://www.identityforce.com/blog/2018-data-breaches). It’s just absolutely overwhelming in

 

What It All Means

"So, what does it all mean, Basel?" It means that our data is out there.

It means that the level of ineptitude of these large organizations that collect, store and are responsible or our data have little to no incentive (apparently) to lock down our personal information and are throwing us to the wolves. 

That in itself should be criminal, but since there’s not much we can do about it from an offensive perspective, there’s much we can do about it from a defensive perspective.

Let's focus on what you can do to protect yourself.

 

ID Theft Insurance And Why Admin/Recovery Is So Important 

Identity thieves will make a mess of your situation. You'll need a small team of people to help you make it right again.

 

At this point, you have to have identity theft insurance.

That's a given and very few would argue against it. But what many don't know is that that ID Theft Policy needs to have and Admin/Recovery element.

But, what is that and what does it mean?

An Administrative and/or Recovery clause in an ID theft policy means you'll have an actual team of folks at the insurance company that will do all the admin clean up for you when someone steals your identity and uses it for nefarious purposes like, filing a fraudulent tax return, opening a credit card or buying a car in your name.

 

The Clean Up Is The Real Nightmare

And, this “clean up” involves hours upon hours of calling the credit bureaus, banks, creditors, government entities, etc. to take care of any malicious activity that has occurred and to help clear you of any potential liability (i.e. debts incurred, fraudulent taxes filed) incurred as a result of your compromised identity.

I'm speaking from experience when I tell you that an ID theft policy with a great admin recovery feature is worth its weight in gold during your ID theft nightmare and Identity Force is the best.

They literally saved me over 100 hours of lost time from work/life by coming along side me during this disaster!

 

Why I Recommend Identity Theft Insurance Through IdentityForce

So, to ensure you’re not completely hosed by this list of 107 data breach and others’ data security ineptitude go ahead and get a policy in place. 

Yes, my ID theft debacle was terrible, but would have been MUCH worse had I not had an identity theft insurance policy in place.

I know, like, trust, use and recommend Identity Force as my identity theft insurance provider.

Here's a link to their program:

Like I mentioned before, Identity Force saved me more than 100 hours of "recovery" work when my identity was compromised. Again, the recovery work is really the most important element of the ID theft policy.

Whichever provider you choose for ID theft insurance, make sure that there is an "administrative" or "recovery" element to the policy.

This is important because with ID theft, you're rarely going to be on the hook for the charges a thief makes.

The real nightmare is always in the cleanup.

This entails calling all the credit rating agencies, dealing with taxing authorities, credit card companies, banks, etc.

The disruption to your life in the form of the hours you'll spend on the cleanup will be more than you can imagine.

 

3 Things To Keep In Mind

So, the moral of the story: get an ID Theft insurance policy as soon as possible. Don’t procrastinate on this. ID theft is real. It's not a scare tactic, it's just the truth.

Identity Force is a great provider for you to consider. You may have noticed the often quoted "LifeLock" as being on the above list. That's a little ironic, don't you think?

All that said, here are three things to keep in mind as you consider ID theft insurance.

 

1. Identity theft is rising.

Identity theft has become more and more common each year. For example, in 2014, 17.6 million Americans became victims of identity theft.(1) In 2017, hackers stole the personal information of nearly 148 million Americans in a single breach.(2)

What!!? This is outrageous, but it's also the new normal.

 

2. It’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when.

Even if you're careful about protecting your personal information, these companies' databases are under constant attack.

These hackers will steal your date of birth, address, debit card number, email address, and more.

 

3. Thieves can steal more than just your money.

Remember, there is more than one type of identity theft: financial, criminal, Social Security, medical, IRS.

The list keeps growing. Cleaning up the mess could take you hundreds of hours of work.

Now, do you have debt? Is it time to get the rest of your financial house in order? Let me introduce you to...

 

The 8 Steps To Obliterate Your Debt:

 
This is the blog post that outlines the 8 steps I followed to eliminated $43,000 in debt in 2.5 years.
 
 
And whether this is your first or thousandth time on the blog, I want to make sure you have this “8 Steps” framework that ALL of our content is centered around. 
 
These are the steps I personally followed to obliterate $43,000+ of debt in 2.5 years
 
Maybe your number is bigger, maybe it’s smaller. Either way the principles are the same and I want you to have them.
 
0. Stop All Retirement Investing (Until Step 4)
2. Starter Emergency Fund of $1000
3. Eliminate Debts Smallest To Largest (a.k.a The Debt Snowball)
4. Full Emergency Fund of 3-6+ Months’ Expenses
5. Invest A Minimum of 15% Income Into Retirement Accounts (and increase savings rate to 50%+ if possible)
6. College Funding (if applicable)
7. Pay Off The Home Mortgage
8. Build Wealth, Serve, Be Ridiculously Generous And Go FI (Financial Independence)!
 
I’ve created a simple, easy to follow guide that you can use as your foundation as you navigate the absolute annihilation of your debt forever.
  

 


 
 

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When You Need More Help

And again, if you’re looking for some resources to get started, you can download our free budgeting forms. Also, if you’re in a place where you’re ready to kick your debt in the teeth, here's the link to our free “8 Steps To Erase Debt” guide for you to use as your foundation.
 
To your freedom,
 
Brad
 
 
This post may contain affiliate links. If you click & make a purchase, I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) that helps keep Zero Debt Coach up and running. Read my full disclosure policy.
 
 
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