Fidelity Confirms Data Breach Affecting Over 77K Customers

Fidelity Investments has confirmed a data breach that compromised the personal information of more than 77,000 customers. On October 9, the company reported to Maine’s Attorney General that 77,099 individuals were affected, a small fraction of its 51.5 million customers.

The breach occurred between August 17 and 19 when an attacker accessed customer names and other personal information through two accounts that had been recently established. 

Source: Maine.gov

Fidelity detected the unauthorized access on August 19 and immediately terminated it. The company assured that the third party did not access any actual Fidelity accounts.

To assist those impacted, Fidelity is offering two years of free credit monitoring and identity restoration services through TransUnion Interactive. They also advised customers to stay vigilant for any signs of fraud or identity theft by regularly checking their financial statements.

This incident marks Fidelity’s fourth data breach in the past year, following similar breaches on March 4, March 18, and July 19. Fidelity has not yet responded to requests for further comment.

Despite these security issues, Fidelity remains a key player in the cryptocurrency space. The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) has attracted nearly $10 billion in inflows since its launch in January, and the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) has gained $445 million since July.

As concerns about data security rise, customers are reminded to monitor their accounts closely.