14 DAY TRIAL // Personal information belonging to members of Shell Vacations Club has been stolen following a break-in at one of its offices, highly sensitive information being exposed in the process.
The incident occurred at a location in California back in January, but the company started to send out letters today, informing the affected individuals of the event.
Highly sensitive data exposed
It appears that the perpetrator(s) stole some items from a locked cabinet, which included a binded folder containing names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, social security numbers and/or financial information that may consist in card and bank account numbers.
All this data is more than sufficient for crooks to deploy phishing attacks or to apply for fraudulent credit on behalf of the victim.
The company alerted law enforcement and started its own investigation, seeking methods to protect the customers against fraud.
Up to now, Shell Vacations Club (SVC) has not found any evidence that the stolen data has been used for malicious purposes.
Residents of four states affected
Nevertheless, it offers its clients a two-year free subscription to a credit monitoring and identity protection service. The subscription period starts at the date of the notification.
In the disclosing letter, Lea Watts, Senior Vice President of SVC-West, did not mention if the electronic devices that may have stored information from more recent transactions have been stolen.
It is possible that a large number of people may be impacted by the incident as the folder included records of transactions from 2005 until 2008. Personal info of some residents from California, Iowa, Maryland and North Carolina was also included in the folder.
Anyone receiving the letter is instructed to monitor their bank accounts statements for suspicious transactions. Unusual activity should be immediately reported to the financial institution handling the account.
Identity theft activity can also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as well as law enforcement divisions.