|
January 17, 2012 - If you have ever purchased a pair of shoes online, there is good chance that you did it using Zappos.com. The online retailer is the largest online merchant for shoes. And if you have ever used Zappos.com, even if you are not a current customer, then there is an excellent chance that many of your personal details were handed over to hackers in their recent data breach. The breach affected 24 million current and past customers. In this case, you do need some information, but you probably don't need to panic. Here is what you need to know.
Zappos.com is an online retailer that is owned by Amazon.com. Recently, their servers were hacked and much of their customer database was exposed. According to the company though, the hack didn't gain access to the company's credit card database. Also, it didn't impact any of Amazon's servers or accounts.
The data that was released will certainly impact user privacy and could be otherwise damaging to those who have significant privacy concerns or issues. But it isn't likely to lead directly to identity theft. Even so, it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Data exposed in the breach includes names, addresses and phone numbers of Zappos' clients. It may also include some account password data and the last four digits of credit cards associated with individual accounts. But it doesn’t' include full credit card numbers, security codes, PINs or expiration dates.
Existing Zappos customers would be well served to change their existing password to insure the security of their accounts. If the password you use on Zappos is used on other sites too, you should change your password on those sites too. Users should also review their accounts to make sure that there are no unauthorized charges or orders currently being processed. If you find any irregularities, you should report them to Zappos immediately.
Zappos is working with law enforcement authorities to track down the hackers involved. The company also temporarily cut off access to their website for overseas customers; a good indication that the hack originated outside of the United States.
It may be a good idea for anyone affected by this data breach to contact their credit card companies and have new credit cards issued. This will make it impossible for anyone to place new charges on their account, even through Zappos.
Note: When posting a comment, please sign-in first if you want a response. If you are not registered, click here. Registration is easy and free.
Follow me on Twitter:
|
Identity Theft 
