If you have not already, you most likely will, receive an email that your information may have been compromised due to a “Security Breach” (Hacked is more appropriate). Epsilon is the company whose data was exposed.
Who is Epsilon? They are the world’s largest provider of permission-based email marketing on behalf of some of the most well known companies.
The exposure is not just limited to the companies in the image above. At this point we do not know the full extent to which companies have been affected. The current list is a who’s who in business. Here is the list as I currently know it:
Target – Best Buy – Walgreen’s - Capital One – TiVo - JP Morgan Chase & Co. – Kroger - US Bank – Citi - McKinsey & Company - Ritz-Carlton Rewards - Marriott Rewards - New York & Company – Brookstone - The College Board - Home Shopping Network (HSN) - LL Bean - Disney Destinations - Barclays Bank of Delaware
Expect more companies to be added to the list as the extent of the damage becomes known.
Why is this important? The “Bad Guys” now have your name and e-mail address as well as information about where you shop, bank, etc.. With this information they will launch a “phishing” attack. In such an attack, an email, that purports to come from a legitimate business will try to trick you into clicking and acting on the information in the email. Don’t be fooled. These emails look real.
What can happen? If you act on the “phishing” attack there are a number of possibilities. You may accidentally give out personal information. You may infect your computer with spyware. Hackers can sometimes get full control of your PC and cull data for use in other attacks. Your identity may be stolen.
What should you do? In the best of possible worlds setup a new email address and change all your online accounts to the new email address. If you don’t want to do that then you need to be extremely cautious. If an email ever requests a password change or personal information do not click the links in that email. If you get a marketing email from your favorite store with a "too good to be true" offer, you may want to think twice before clicking the links.
I could imagine them sending an email like this: “We recently had a Security Breach and your email address and information may have been compromised. Click the link to our website and update your information." Never fall for that! If you have any question then pickup the phone and call. If a number is referenced in the email do NOT call that number. Get the number from the legitimate website or a different source other than the email.
If you get suspect emails forward them to: spam@uce.gov and reportphishing@antiphishing.org
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