In case you haven’t heard, recently hackers gained access to up to 145 million eBay user accounts. According to eBay the following information has been compromised:
- Encrypted passwords
- E-mail addresses
- Birth dates
- Mailing addresses
- Other personal information
They claim that no financial information has been breached and as such have no immediate plans to offer free credit monitoring. It’s worth noting that originally they believed that no data was compromised at all, so it’s worth taking their statement that no financial data was stolen with a grain of salt. Legally eBay is not required to provide free credit monitoring to users that were affected but it’s none the less disappointing to see this announcement. Hopefully it’ll help spurn congress to enact greater consumer protections when it comes to data breaches.
If you’re concerned about the eBay data breach and believe they should offer their customers free credit monitoring, we’d recommend contacting eBay directly to voice your concerns. You can also contact your local representative and urge them to put pressure onto eBay to provide this service. According to Reuters the New York attorney general has already asked eBay to provide credit monitoring to affected customers.
Alternatively you can sign up to one of the free alternatives that are out there. We’ve provided in depth reviews of all four of these sites currently available; credit karma review, credit sesame review, quizzle review, credit.com review. Let us know your thoughts on the eBay breach in the comments.
Will, I come from the future, I’m here to let you know that nothing’s changed after yet another 5 years.