On September 11, 2022, Revolut, a digital bank with over 20 million customers, announced that it had been the victim of a data breach. The breach exposed the personal information of 50,150 customers, including names, addresses, email addresses, and partial payment card information.
What Happened?
Revolut has not released many details about the breach, but it is believed that it was caused by a social engineering attack. In a social engineering attack, the attacker tricks the victim into giving up their personal information. In this case, it is believed that the attacker may have sent phishing emails to Revolut customers, posing as a legitimate Revolut employee. If the victim clicked on a link in the email, they would have been taken to a fake Revolut website, where they would have been asked to enter their personal information.
What information was exposed?
The personal information that was exposed in the breach includes:
Names
Addresses
Email addresses
Partial payment card information
Revolut has stated that the full credit card numbers of affected customers were not exposed. However, the partial payment card information that was exposed could be used by criminals to make fraudulent purchases.
What Should You Do If You Were Affected?
If you were affected by the Revolut data breach, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself:
Check your credit report.
You can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once a year at AnnualCreditReport.com. Review your report carefully for any unauthorized accounts or inquiries.
Place a fraud alert on your credit report.
A fraud alert tells creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before opening a new account in your name. You can place a fraud alert by contacting one of the three major credit bureaus.
Monitor your credit card statements.
Be sure to review your credit card statements carefully for any unauthorized charges. If you see any unauthorized charges, report them to your credit card issuer immediately.
What Is Revolut Doing to Protect Customers?
Revolut has said that it is taking steps to improve its security measures in order to prevent future data breaches. These steps include:
Investing in new security technologies
Training employees on security best practices
Working with law enforcement to investigate the breach
What Can You Do to Protect Yourself from Data Breaches?
There are a few things you can do to protect yourself from data breaches:
Be careful about what information you share online.
Only share personal information with websites that you trust.
Use strong passwords and change them regularly.
A strong password is at least 12 characters long and includes a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
Be careful about clicking on links in emails.
If you're not sure if an email is legitimate, don't click on any links in the email. Instead, go to the website directly by typing the address into your browser.
Install security software on your computer and keep it up to date.
Security software can help to protect your computer from viruses and other malware that can be used to steal your personal information.
By following these tips, you can help to protect yourself from data breaches.
