The Capital One Data Breach is one of the biggest in history. It not only affects Capital One account holders, but also those who at one point submitted a credit card application. Yikes! Do you remember all the credit card applications you have filled out in your life? We sure don’t!
What information was obtained?
According to CNN, 140,000 social security numbers were accessed in the Capital One Data Breach along with 80,000 bank account numbers, and an unnamed amount of names and addresses.
News sources describe this fraudster as somewhat of a novice and therefore was not careful. She even advertised she had the information to co-workers and on social media. This enabled authorities to take quick, corrective action. Very fortunate for Capital One. What if it would have been a career hacker?
Why do people risk life in jail to obtain private information?
Because your personal information is valuable. Hackers sell the information to the highest bidder(s). That’s right, it could be multiple bidders across multiple countries, making it even harder to track.
Your personal information is so valuable to these hackers that they are willing to run the risk of getting caught, paying astronomical fines, ruining their careers, and spending serious time in jail because of the potential payoff. Hackers can make millions, billions even from selling your personal information to the bad guys who want to gain at your expense. What are you willing to do to protect your online identity from them? How valuable is it to you? As long as there is a high payout amount, hackers will not stop being thieves so it’s up to you to protect what is yours.
