Data breach leaks SSNs of over 230,000 Comcast customers

A data breach has exposed the names, addresses, social security numbers, and birthdates of more than 237,700 Comcast customers. The breach stems from a security incident at Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS), a debt collection agency Comcast previously used, according to a filing with the state of Maine on Friday reported by Bleeping Computer and TechCrunch.

FBCS revealed that it had suffered a breach in February, exposing the sensitive information of more than 4.2 million people. FBCS informed Comcast in July that its customer data had been affected, saying an “unauthorized party downloaded data from FBCS systems and encrypted some systems as part of a ransomware attack.”

Total number of persons affected (including residents): 237,703

Total number of Maine residents affected: 22

Date(s) Breach Occurred: February 14, 2024

Date Breach Discovered: July 17, 2024

Description of the Breach: External system breach (hacking)

Comcast says the data included in the breach “dates from around 2021,” and that it stopped using FBCS’s services in 2020. Truist Bank also revealed that some of its customers were impacted by the FBCS breach. Comcast is providing identity theft protection and credit monitoring services to customers affected by the leak.

Last December, Comcast disclosed a massive data breach impacting more than 35 million people, including names, contact information, partial social security numbers, and birth dates.