Monster.com is the latest reported data breach. They have recently disclosed their database was breached and thieves made off with user id's, names, passwords, dates of birth, email addresses and in some cases addresses.
If you have an account with Monster, aside from changing your password, beware of fake emails that may soon land in your email box claiming to be from Monster and asking you to click on embedded links, verify information, or even dial a provided number.
Monster claims they will not be sending emails to their users knowing that scammers often use phishing emails to scare consumers into divulging personal information or downloading malicious spyware. And with news of a data breach -fake phishing emails purporting to come from Monster will surely follow.
Monster's security notice in part states;
The scale of this latest breach, and the damage it could cause to those who have now been compromised, is not fully known this time.
This breach affects other databases as well. USAJobs.com, the U.S. government Web site for federal jobs is hosted by Monster they posted a warning to users as well.
Monster.co.uk is reporting this breach as potentially the largest data theft ever in Britain,claiming 4.5 million users are affected.
If you think you may be affected by any one of the recently reported data breaches, now's the time to take control of your identity -before someone else does!
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Hello Denise,
I am just curious if Job Central, which is the replacement for DOL's former America's Job Bank was compromised as well?
Job Central is a non-profit organization, with a Board of Directors made up of many Corporations.
Their Director (Bill Warren) is the former owner of the original Internet site that was purchased and became Monster.com, and he is employed with Monster.com; and previously worked for an Agency that receives Federal contracts.
Job Central is also tied to DirectEmployers.com that is involved with our Federal Veteran Services and Vet Central website. It appears there is possible legislation requiring Businesses to E-verify if they receive Federal Contracts through DirectEmployers site, and President Obama is going to review this in May ’09.
Please look at their affiliation with www.military.com as at the bottom of this website the logo “monster A Monster company” appears.
Is our national security and Homeland Security compromised?
I am emailing you because 20 States are allowing Job Central to access State Employment Security Departments Websites by daily dumping Job Listings into their systems with their Employer's Job Listings.
Currently the State I am in (Oregon) is looking to allow this, and it concerns me, in that Job Seekers, as well as Businesses Listing with us could be at risk.
Thank you for your time,
Deb Rock
Hi Deb -thanks for the note!
Unfortunately, I can't give you any specific info on this particular data breach (will check out your links though). But I can tell you that gov and corporate data breaches occur at an alarming rate -and unfortunately, many go unreported. And those that are reported -are reported long after damage can be done and info is sold to multiple thieves in the over 10,000 underground chat rooms!!
There was a recent report of a near 50% increase over the prior year. When data breaches occur -we don't learn of them sometimes until months later.
We really are no longer in control over our own information -think about how many places have your data. The best way to prevent an identity theft (and sleep better at night) is to prepare for one! Take precautionary steps such as freezing your credit or placing fraud alerts every 90 days -(whichever suits your needs) as they can be a good line of defense for credit id theft. But in reality, if you fear an id theft can cause you anxiety -or lots of time for bot prevention and recovery work, do what I did. Hire someone to do it for you. Trust me, having been a victim, it isn't any fun! On my third id compromise, I set out to find a company to do the preventative and restorative work for me!
I actually flew out to AZ, to meet with the CEO of LifeLock. I really needed to be sure they could and would do as promised. And now, I no longer worry about id theft. If my wallet is lost or stolen, a hacker steals my data or breaks into someone else's database placing my identity at risk -I am covered. One call to them -and it's their problem, not mine! That in itself gives me value and more importantly peace of mind! For more on that see a much earlier post "how much value to you place on your time"
http://www.givemebackmycredit.com/blog/2007/01/how-much-value-do-you-place-on.html
If I can be of any help or you need more info -feel free to email me directly at deniserichardson (at) givemebackmycredit.com