TMX Finance Suffers a Cyber Breach, and Customer Data is Exposed

TMX Finance is a large financial company that specializes in short-term loans for in-need individuals. The company has been in operation since 1998 and runs businesses like InstaLoan, TitleMax, and TitleBucks. The organization maintains more than 900 locations in 14 separate states and employs more than 2,000 individuals overall. This large finance company recently suffered from a cyber attack that exposed some of its customers in a serious way. 

How Did the Attack Occur?

TMX Finance was breached by one or more attackers that found a way to break into the company's file systems. The breach first occurred in December of 2022, and there are records of files being removed from the system between February 3 and February 14, 2023. Some of those files contained a large amount of consumer information that puts the users at a major risk. 

What Information Was Viewed or Stolen?

A great deal of information was taken from the TMX Finance servers. Some of it was very personal and protected information, such as Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account details, tax ID numbers, and passport numbers. Consumers also lost more basic information like their full names, phone numbers, email addresses, home address, dates of birth, and more. The stolen data was different for everyone involved, but generally, the details taken were about customers that worked with TMX Finance or one of the companies it owns and operates. 

How Did TMX Finance Admit to the Breach?

TMX sent a detailed letter to the Maine Attorney General, breaking down the scope of the information lost in the attack and explaining what sort of consumers were hit by the cyber attack. The letter was just the first notice sent out about this incident, and custom letters will be mailed to anyone involved in the incident as well. 

What Will Become of the Stolen Information?

Much of the information stolen from TMX servers will be used to commit fraud, sold off to interested buyers, and leveraged for phishing scams and other attacks. The attackers want to generate a profit from the information stolen and will misuse the information as much as possible to achieve that goal. 

What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach?

If your data was taken during this breach, you should take immediate steps to protect yourself. More than 4,800,000 individuals were hit by this breach, and if you're one of them, you should start by getting copies of your credit reports to see if any strange accounts have been opened recently. You should also monitor all your financial accounts to monitor for strange purchases. You could put a freeze on your credit to stop the attackers from using your information to open accounts. You could also invest in identity theft protection services that will monitor your accounts for you and give you active alerts about what is happening with your account. Being proactive about your personal protection can stop this attack from harming you in a serious way.