Investor Headaches After Fidelity Data Breach
January 26, 2025
Fidelity Investments, one of the world’s largest financial services corporations, announced they were hit by a data breach. The investment titan informed more than 77,000 of their affected customers that some of their most sensitive personally identifiable information (PPI) was accessed in the hack. The company sent breach notices to state attorneys general in MA, ME, and NH, where their victimized customers live. But that doesn't mean others weren't affected and anyone with an account should be in a state of alertness.
Fidelity says the breach occurred when a third party opened two customer accounts, and from there accessed customer information without authorization. They say no customer financial data was compromised, but PII including Social Security numbers and driver’s license data were accessed. Once the three-day-long breach was detected, Fidelity says it blocked both accounts and began an investigation.
Smart Protection
The firm states they have over 51 million customer investors worldwide, with total customer assets of more than $14 trillion. They’re currently offering breach victims two years of identity theft protection to monitor credit accounts for unexpected activity.
When credit monitoring is offered for any reason, the smart move is accepting it and actively using it. During this time, no one can open any new credit accounts in your name without you being alerted, and that may save you from fraudulent use of your identity, credit, and finances.
For those already using credit monitoring services when additional monitoring is offered, there’s a smart way to make the most of your protection. Continue using your current service until it’s near expiring—but don’t let it expire. Once it’s close, start the new coverage. That way, you don’t waste coverage by doubling it, and you maximize the length of your protection time.
If by now you’re thinking “not another data breach” you’re in good company. But knowing these crimes happen much more often than we’d like is also a great reason to continue being vigilant and cyber-smart—especially with your online identity and financial accounts.
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