Koster: 263K Missourians at risk from Experian breach

In a security breach affecting up to 15 million customers in the U.S., some 263,000 Missourians could be at risk.

That’s the warning from Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, who’s urging T-Mobile customers who applied for credit through Experian to take steps to protect themselves.

In a news release, Koster recommended registering for a credit freeze with the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Trans Union. Experian has indicated it will provide a credit freeze at no cost to impacted T-Mobile customers.

On the attorney general’s website, the office provides information on what to to do if identify theft is suspected. Steps including examining your credit report for suspicious activity; disputing fraudulent charges; closing accounts that may have been tampered with; and filing a complaint at FTC.gov/IDTheft.

Experian disclosed last week an unauthorized party had access T-Mobile data housed on one of its servers, which includes customers’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birth dates and identification numbers, such as driver’s license information. Customers affected would have applied for T-Mobile postpaid services between Sept. 1, 2013, and Sept. 16, 2015, according to the release.