Eight separate lawsuits have been filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale since Aug. 1 against Jerico Pictures Inc., which does business as National Public Data.
National Public Data has acknowledged the breach on its website, calling it a “data security incident” that stemmed from an attempted hack by a “third-party bad actor” in December 2023 and involved “potential leaks of certain data in April 2024 and summer 2024.”
The company’s statement did not say how many individuals’ data was stolen or which of its databases were hacked. But it said information that was stolen includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers and mailing addresses.
The company’s website advertises that it conducts background searches for employers and investigators “for some of the lowest fees in the industry.”
“You will be able to run criminal records, background checks, vital records, assets and much more and out data is updated regularly,” a statement on the site says.
News of the breach came to light on Aug. 1 in a lawsuit filed by Christopher Hoffman, a California resident. The suit said a cybercriminal group by the name USDoD posted a database on a dark web forum in April claiming to have personal data of 2.9 billion people, Bloomberg Law reported. The group put the database up for sale for $3.5 million, the lawsuit said.
In addition to the information that National Public Data admits was involved, Hoffman’s lawsuit says hackers also obtained information about relatives and past addresses dating back at least three decades.
Hoffman found out about the breach in late July, when his identity protection service notified him that his information was compromised as a direct result of the “nationalpublicdata.com” breach.
Hoffman’s lawsuit accuses the company of negligence and breaches of fiduciary duty, among other allegations. It demands monetary relief and a court order requiring the company to take measures to prevent further data breaches.
Since Aug. 1, seven other proposed class action lawsuits have been filed against the company.
The company’s statement about the breach urges potential victims to take action to minimize or eliminate potential harm.
Preventive measures include:
— Closely monitoring financial accounts for unauthorized activity.
— Obtaining a free credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion by logging onto www.annualcreditreport.com.
— Placing a fraud alert on your credit files that tells creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or changing existing accounts.
— Consider placing a credit freeze on your files that prevents potential creditors from accessing your credit report.
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