Insurance company Geico has suffered a data breach that exposed customers’ driver’s license for more than a month, according to a data breach notice filed with the attorney general of California.
Geico is the second-largest car insurance company in the United States, with over 17 million policies for more than 28 million vehicles.
“We recently determined that between January 21, 2021 and March 1, 2021, fraudsters used information about you – which they acquired elsewhere – to obtain unauthorized access to your driver’s license number through the online sales system on our website,” the notice reads. “We have reason to believe that this information could be used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits in your name.”
Geico believes that the threat actors plan to use the driver’s license number to apply for unemployment benefits under the policy holder’s name.
“We have reason to believe that this information could be used to fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits in your name. If you receive any mailings from your state’s unemployment agency/department, please review them carefully and contact that agency/department if there is any chance fraud is being committed,” Geico explains.
The notice does not indicate how many customers may have been affected or whether the breach was confined to California. But California law states that “any person or business that is required to issue a security breach notification to more than 500 California residents as a result of a single breach” must submit a copy of the notice to the attorney general’s office.
For those affected, Geico is offering a free one-year subscription to an identity protection service.
