Recently, AUTOPAY Direct, Inc. confirmed that the company fell victim to a ransomware attack, compromising the sensitive information of certain customers.
If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk.
Last year, 1,862 data breaches affected more than 189 million people. On average, victims of identity theft spend 200 hours and over $1,300 recovering their identity. Many victims also suffer emotional distress, credit damage, and may even end up with a criminal record. Taking immediate action is the best way to prevent the worst consequences of a data breach.
According to an official filing by the company, on February 5, 2022, AUTOPAY was informed by a group of hackers that they had obtained access to the company’s network and removed certain data, including the sensitive information of certain customers. The group demanded AUTOPAY pay a ransom, which AUTOPAY chose not to do.
AUTOPAY launched an investigation into the incident to determine whether any sensitive consumer information was accessed or removed from the company’s network. The investigation revealed that the unauthorized group had access to AUTOPAY servers between approximately. October 11, 2021 and February 5, 2022
Upon learning of the extent of the security breach, AUTOPAY Direct then reviewed the affected files to determine what information was compromised. On around March 23, 2022, AUTOPAY Direct began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
AUTOPAY Direct, Inc. is a car finance and loan company based in Denver, Colorado. The company direct-to-consumer financing and refinancing options to buyers of new and used cars. Loan terms vary between 24 and 96 months. AUTOPAY Direct is owned by The Savings Group, Inc., which also owns Rategenius. AUTOPAY Direct employs 88 people and generates roughly $51 million in annual revenue.
Often, data breaches are the result of a hacker gaining unauthorized access to a company’s computer systems with the intention of obtaining sensitive consumer information. While no one can know the reason why a hacker targeted AUTOPAY, it is common for hackers and other criminals to identify those companies believed to have weak data security systems or vulnerabilities in their networks.
Once a cybercriminal gains access to a computer network, they can then access and remove any data stored on the compromised servers. While in most cases a company experiencing a data breach can identify which files were accessible, there may be no way for the company to tell which files the hacker actually accessed or whether they removed any data.
While the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach does not necessarily mean it will be used for criminal purposes, being the victim of a data breach puts your sensitive data in the hands of an unauthorized person. As a result, you are at an increased risk of identity theft and other frauds, and criminal use of your information is a possibility that should not be ignored.
Given this reality, individuals who receive an AUTOPAY Direct data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like AUTOPAY are responsible for protecting the consumer data in their possession. If evidence emerges that AUTOPAY failed to adequately protect your sensitive information, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach lawsuit.
When customers decided to do business with AUTOPAY, they assumed that the company would take their privacy concerns seriously. And it goes without saying that consumers would think twice before giving a company access to their information if they knew it wasn’t going to be secure. Thus, data breaches such as this one raise questions about the adequacy of a company’s data security system.
When a business, government entity, non-profit organization, school, or any other organization accepts and stores consumer data, it also accepts a legal obligation to ensure this information remains private. The United States data breach laws allow consumers to pursue civil data breach claims against organizations that fail to protect their information.
Of course, given the recency of the AUTOPAY Direct data breach, the investigation into the incident is still in its early stages. And, as of right now, there is not yet any evidence suggesting AUTOPAY is legally responsible for the breach. However, that could change as additional information about the breach and its causes is revealed.
If you have questions about your ability to bring a data breach class action lawsuit against AUTOPAY Direct, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.
If AUTOPAY Direct sends you a data breach notification letter, you are among those whose information was compromised in the recent breach. While this isn’t a time to panic, the situation warrants your attention. Below are a few important steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft and other fraudulent activity:
Identify What Information Was Compromised: The first thing to do after learning of a data breach is to carefully review the data breach letter sent. The letter will tell you what information of yours was accessible to the unauthorized party. Be sure to make a copy of the letter and keep it for your records. If you have trouble understanding the letter or what steps you can take to protect yourself, a data breach lawyer can help.
Limit Future Access to Your Accounts: Once you determine what information of yours was affected by the breach, the safest play is to assume that the hacker orchestrating the attack stole your data. While this may not be the case, it’s better to be safe than sorry. To prevent future access to your accounts, you should change all passwords and security questions for any online account. This includes online banking accounts, credit card accounts, online shopping accounts, and any other account containing your personal information. You should also consider changing your social media account passwords and setting up multi-factor authentication where it is available.
Protect Your Credit and Your Financial Accounts: After a data breach, companies often provide affected parties with free credit monitoring services. Signing up for the free credit monitoring offers some significant protections and doesn’t impact any of your rights to pursue a data breach lawsuit against the company if it turns out they were legally responsible for the breach. You should contact a credit bureau to request a copy of your credit report—even if you do not notice any signs of fraud or unauthorized activity. Adding a fraud alert to your account will provide you with additional protection.
Consider Implementing a Credit Freeze: A credit freeze prevents anyone from accessing your credit report. Credit freezes are free and stay in effect until you remove them. Once a credit freeze is in place, you can temporarily lift the freeze if you need to apply for any type of credit. While placing a credit freeze on your accounts may seem like overkill, given the risks involved, it’s justified. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (“ITRC”), placing a credit freeze on your account is the “single most effective way to prevent a new credit/financial account from being opened.” However, just 3% of data breach victims place a freeze on their accounts.
Regularly Monitor Your Credit Report and Financial Accounts: Protecting yourself in the wake of a data breach requires an ongoing effort on your part. You should regularly check your credit report and all financial account statements, looking for any signs of unauthorized activity or fraud. You should also call your banks and credit card companies to report the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach.
Below is a copy of the initial data breach letter issued by AUTOPAY Direct, Inc. (the actual notice sent to consumers can be found here):
Dear [Consumer],
I am writing to you on behalf of AUTOPAY Direct, Inc. (“AUTOPAY”) with important information about a data security incident that occurred recently. AUTOPAY takes the protection and proper use of your personal information very seriously. We are, therefore, contacting you to explain the incident and provide you information about security measures you can take to protect yourself and your personal information.
What Happened:
On February 5, 2022, a threat actor group notified us that it had infiltrated our internal network and extracted certain data, including personally identifiable information of some of our customers. The group threatened to release the data online unless their ransom demand was met; however, in accordance with the standard recommendation of the FBI and financial regulators, we did not pay the ransom. We promptly retained an outside forensic firm to conduct a thorough investigation, determine the systems impacted, and contain and remediate the incident, including terminating all unauthorized access to our systems. The forensic firm determined that the earliest evidence of compromise relating to this incident was likely October 11, 2021, and the compromise continued until the date we terminated access, February 5, 2022. Over the next several weeks, we also undertook a comprehensive data analysis effort to identify any sensitive data that may have been impacted. This notice was not delayed as the result of a law enforcement investigation.
What Information Was Involved:
This incident involved certain of your personal information, including [Redacted].
As a result, your personal information may have been exposed to others.
What We Are Doing:
We have taken, and are continuing to take, actions to mitigate this incident and to protect against similar attacks in the future. Such actions include: notifying law enforcement, successfully terminating all unauthorized access, undertaking a full forensic investigation of the incident, implementing multifactor authentication for all users across the organization, and configuring additional security measures on our information technology platforms (including enhanced password management, access control restrictions and updated logging capabilities).
Additional Resources:
Please review the “Additional Resources” section included with this letter. This section describes additional steps you can take to help protect yourself, including recommendations by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding identity theft protection and details on how to place a fraud alert or a security freeze on your credit file. You should also report any suspected incident of identity theft to law enforcement and you can obtain a copy of any resulting police report. If you do suspect that you have been the victim of identity theft, you should also notify your state Attorney General and the FTC.
We sincerely apologize for this incident and regret any inconvenience it may cause you. Should you have questions or concerns regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact us at [customer service number].
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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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