If you are one of the estimated 9.8 million Optus customers affected by last week’s data breach, you may be wondering what to do next. Given that the telco is still investigating the incident, it is difficult to say for certain how your personal information has been compromised. In this post, we will outline a few actions you can take to protect yourself and limit the damage as well as safeguard your privacy in future.
Almost 40% of the Australian population may have had their personal data stolen in a major security breach. The telecommunications company Optus says that up to 9.8 million current and former customers may be affected by the breach.
The stolen data may include personal information such as email addresses, dates of birth, passport numbers and driver’s licence numbers. Home Affairs Minister, Clare O’Neil, says customer Medicare numbers may also be compromised.
If your information was compromised due to the breach, you can protect yourself from fraud and scams by taking these important steps:
Find out what information was compromised
Optus said that they sent out an SMS or email to all customers who had their licence number or passport number compromised. Optus also said that they are in the process of contacting current and former customers who is email addresses were illegally accessed. They said that no payment details and account passwords were revealed.
Be suspicious of scams
Cybercriminals could use the breached data to target individuals with scams and could even pretend to contact clients as if they are Optus agents. Keep your eyes peeled for emails from Optus or other agencies that might look official. If you receive one, do not click on their links or give away personal information! Instead, contact Optus’ (or other agency’s) official phone number. Visit their official website or look at your previous invoices to find their phone number. Optus says they will not send customers any links.
Review your online security
Whether or not your account passwords were exposed, it is crucial to implement good online security practices to keep accounts secure. You can strengthen your accounts by adding an extra layer of security with two-factor authentication, additional security questions and by using strong passwords.
Replace documents
If your licence, Medicare or passport numbers have been compromised due to the breach, you should consider replacing them. If you have received an Optus data breach notice through email, text or account message, you can change your driver’s licence number and get a new licence free of charge from a Transport and Motoring Service Centre.
Services Australia advised that you could replace your Medicare card by following the steps on their website.
Credit Monitoring
Optus is offering free services to those who were “most affected” by the breach. Services such as free access to Equifax credit monitoring for 12 months to help monitor credit and protect against fraud. There are also free services that you can access for credit monitoring and banning new credit applications.
While we still do not know the full extent of the damage, we wanted to provide you with advice to better protect yourself. We also encourage you to stay tuned for updates from the telco and to contact us if you have any questions or need help. At Cloud Voice Solutions, we are committed to helping our customers protect their personal information. To learn more about how we can help, please visit our website or give us a call. Thank you for your continued support.