Got T-Mobile? Here's What You Need to Know

Attorney General Joseph A. Foster urges New Hampshire consumers to be vigilant following a security breach of T-Mobile consumer information held by the credit agency Experian, according to a press statement.

The affected consumer data included some personally identifiable information for approximately 15 million consumers in the U.S., including an estimated 21,000 New Hampshire residents. The breached information was obtained when an unauthorized party accessed T-Mobile data housed in an Experian server.

Affected customers are those who applied for T-Mobile USA postpaid services or financed a T-Mobile device between Sept. 1, 2013 and Sept. 16, 2015. Information that was breached includes customers’ names, addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth, identification numbers (typically a driver’s license number, military ID, or passport number) and additional information used in T-Mobile’s own credit assessment.

According to Experian, its consumer credit database was not accessed in this incident and the company reports that no bank account or credit card numbers were accessed. Experian is in the process of notifying affected consumers. Experian will offer those individuals two years of free credit monitoring.

For those who are notified or who are concerned that they may be impacted in this data breach or any other breach, Foster urges consumers to take the following steps to guard against identity theft:

• Contact the fraud department of each of the three major credit bureaus to report that your identity has been stolen.
• Ask that a “fraud alert” be placed on your file and that no new credit be granted in your name without your specific approval.
• Request a FREE copy of your credit report to check whether any accounts were opened without your consent.
• Request that the agencies remove inquiries and/or fraudulent accounts stemming from the theft. The toll-free, fraud hot-line numbers and Web sites are listed below: Experian www.experian.com PO Box 214 Allen, TX 75013-0949 1-888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742) (toll free) Transunion www.transunion.com PO Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 1-800-916-8800 (toll-free) Equifax www.equifax.com PO Box 740241 Atlanta, Georgia 30374-0241 1-800-685-1111 (toll free)
• Closely and regularly monitor financial statements, including bank and credit card statements, for any unusual activity.
• Review and monitor your credit report to check for inaccuracies. A free credit report can be requested from each of the credit bureaus once a year through www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

Victims of identity theft should file a complaint with the FTC. The FTC is the federal clearinghouse for complaints by victims of identity theft. The FTC can offer information to you on dealing with the aftermath of having your identity stolen: https://www.identitytheft.gov/ 1-877-IDTHEFT or 1-877-438-4338 (toll-free)

Consumers with consumer-related complaints or concerns can call the Attorney General’s Consumer Information Line at 1-888-468-4454 or file a complaint on-line at http://doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints/index.htm.