TD Bank has announced that there has been a leak of customer information that has been stolen by a former employee. The personal information that has been acquired by the said employee includes the user's full name, physical address, social security number, safe of birth, transactional information, and account number.
Since TD is one of the largest banks in the United States by deposits, This could be a huge security breach for a lot of customers. The bank has yet to disclose how many customers were affected by this incident.
The Vermont Attorney General's office has received the data breach notification stating that one of TD Bank's former employees has been giving away the information to a third-party outside of bank personnel, as mentioned in BleepingComputer.
It's likely that many of the bank's customers have already been victims of fraudulent activity due to the breach having happened back in May 2022. It's been approximately five months before the breach was even discovered.
What Do Customers Need to Watch Out For?
Since a lot of the sensitive data that has been leaked can be used for fraud, the bank advises its customers to be extremely vigilant for the next 24 months. Their information can be used for phishing attacks, social engineering, scamming, impersonation, identity theft, bank fraud, and unauthorized payments.
What is the Bank's Solution to the Incident?
According to a breach notice released by the bank on September 28th, they are resolving the matter through an internal investigation conducted by their corporate security team. As for the money that has already been lost due to the leaked information, the bank has been issuing reimbursements.
They say that they are taking action so they may safeguard the confidential information involved during bank transactions. A two-year membership to Fraud-Defender, provided by Merchants Information Solutions, has been offered to the victims and paid for by TD Bank.
The bank will also provide a simpler process for the customers whose information was leaked, for when they want to close their current account and open a new one to get ahead of the incident and avoid further or possible fraudulent activities.
Scam Red Flags to Look Out For
Scammers usually target their victims via emails, text messages, voice calls, and letters. Bank account holders need to be vigilant and learn how to identify which are real and which are scams.
If someone is asking for personal or account information and claims that they are a representative of the bank, refrain from answering, as banks will never text, email, or call their customers asking for this information.
Some will pose as the bank by contacting their victims and claiming that the matter is urgent. If that does happen, immediately contact your bank and verify if the concern is legitimate, as advised by the Bank of America.
The bank will never ask you to pay via other methods like gift cards, digital currency, or other payment apps like Zelle to resolve a problem. They will never ask you to transfer money to anyone, even yourself.
Never give out your PIN or account number to just anyone unless you are 100% sure that the person is from your bank. It is safer to approach the bank's physical establishments to resolve matters when the need arises.