Recently, IRA Financial Trust confirmed that an unauthorized party gained access to certain customers’ IRA accounts resulting in the sensitive information of some consumers being compromised. If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating the IRA Financial Trust data breach on behalf of people whose information was exposed. As a part of this investigation, we are providing free consultations to anyone affected by the breach who is interested in learning more about the risks of identity theft, what they can do to protect themselves, and what their legal options may be to obtain compensation from IRA Financial Trust.
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.
IRA Financial Trust is a financial technology non-banking IRA trust company that administers self-directed retirement accounts on behalf of its clients. Currently, IRA Financial Trust’s registration allows it to handle self-directed IRAs, Roth IRAs, SIMPLE Accounts, SEP Accounts, 401(k) plan accounts, Health Savings Accounts, and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. The company was founded in 2016 and is based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. IRA Financial Trust has invested over $4.6 billion in alternative assets on behalf of its clients.
According to an official filing by the company, on February 8, 2022, IRA Financial Trust learned that an unauthorized party made withdrawals of cryptocurrency from some customers’ IRA accounts. In response, the company initiated an investigation to determine whether the event also resulted in the exposure of sensitive consumer information. Subsequently, the investigation revealed that between the dates of February 2, 2022 and February 25, 2022, the unauthorized party was able to access the affected customers’ accounts.
IRA Financial Trust later reported that, as a result of the breach, certain consumer information was available to the unauthorized party. While the compromised information varies by consumer, it may include your full name, email address, phone number, Social Security number and financial account information.
On March 11, 2022, IRA Financial Trust began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
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 IRA Financial Trust, 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 IRA Financial Trust data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like IRA Financial Trust are responsible for protecting the consumer data in their possession. If evidence emerges that IRA Financial Trust 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 IRA Financial Trust, 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 IRA Financial Trust 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 IRA Financial Trust 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 IRA Financial Trust, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.
If IRA Financial Trust 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 IRA Financial Trust:
Dear [Consumer],
RA Financial Trust (“IRA”) writes to notify you of a recent incident that may affect the security of some of your personal information. We are providing you with information about the incident, our response to it, and steps you can take in addition to those you take every day to protect your personal information, should you feel it appropriate to do so.
What Happened? On February 8, 2022, it became apparent that certain IRA customers had unauthorized withdrawals of cryptocurrency from their Gemini cryptocurrency wallets. We immediately took steps to investigate the unauthorized activity and engaged third-party forensic specialists to conduct an investigation of the incident. On February 24, 2022, the investigation determined that an unauthorized actor gained access to certain IRA customer information, between the dates of February 2, 2022 and February 25, 2022. While we have no indication that your information was actually accessed or taken by the unauthorized actor during this period, we cannot rule out the possibility that this occurred, and we are providing you notice of this event out of an abundance of caution.
What Information Was Involved? The information we know was accessible to the unauthorized actor includes your name, email address, and phone number. We cannot rule out with certainty that your Social Security number and financial account information could have also been accessed during the incident.
What We Are Doing. Safeguarding the privacy of information in our care and the security of our network is among our highest priorities. Upon learning of this issue, we immediately took steps to secure our systems, changed passwords, and implemented a number of additional security features to further secure our network. We also conducted a diligent investigation with the assistance of third-party specialists to confirm the full nature and scope of the incident.
What You Can Do. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors over the next 12 to 24 months. Please review the enclosed “Steps You Can Take to Protect Personal Information” to learn about additional ways to protect your personal information, should you feel it appropriate to do so.
For More Information. We understand that you may have questions about this incident that are not addressed in this letter. If you have additional questions, please call our dedicated assistance line at 800-472-1043, Monday-Friday: 8:30am-4:30pm Central time. You may also write to us at IRA Financial Trust 5024 S. Bur Oak Place, Suite 200 Sioux Falls, SD 57108.
IRA remains committed to safeguarding information in our care and we regret any inconvenience this notice may cause you.
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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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