Data breaches remain one of the most significant issues in the digital world. When hackers steal sensitive and financial customer data, anything can happen. Flagstar Bank is the latest institution to admit to a data breach, with records of over 1.5 million customers exposed.
Flagstar Bank Suffers A Big Data Breach
It is not uncommon for criminals to attack banks and other financial institutions. Not in the physical form but rather through online attacks like hacking and phishing. There is more value in obtaining customer records than there is in trying to make money from a bank and laundering it to avoid being captured. Moreover, customer data can be sold on the dark web to multiple customers.
Customers of Flagstar Bank may want to keep close tabs on any suspicious emails or physical mail they receive. Moreover, keeping tabs on bank and card statements is essential. The bank confirmed they suffered a data breach in December 2021, exposing records of over 1.5 million customers. Moreover, the bank was hacked over two days, although the culprits remain at large.
Flagstar Bank issued a statement regarding the matter:
“After an extensive forensic investigation and manual document review, we discovered on June 2, 2022 that certain impacted files containing your personal information were accessed and/or acquired from our network between December 3, 2021 and December 4, 2021. We have no evidence that any of the information has been misused. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, we want to make you aware of the incident.”
Exposed information includes customer names, various personal identifiers, and social security numbers. It is not the first incident for Flagstar Bank, as it fell victim to the Accellion corporate document heist. Affected customers will receive two years of free identity monitoring services, including credit monitoring, identity theft restoration, and fraud consultation.