Recently, Leerburg Enterprises confirmed that some of the payment information used on the company’s website was accessible to an unauthorized user, exposing certain customers’ names, credit and debit card numbers, expiration dates, and security codes.
If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk. More about our investigation into this breach, and what you can do if your data was stolen, is available here.
Last year, 1,862 data breaches affected more than 189 million people. On average, victims of identity theft spend 200 hours and over $1,300 recovering their identity. Many victims also suffer emotional distress, credit damage, and may even end up with a criminal record. Taking immediate action is the best way to prevent the worst consequences of a data breach.
What We Know So Far About the Leerburg Enterprises Data Breach
According to an official filing by the company, on March 4, 2021, Leerburg Enterprises learned that certain credit and debit cards used on its e-commerce website may have been subject to unauthorized access. In response, the company investigated the incident to learn more about its nature and scope, as well as to determine what, if any, consumer information was compromised. The company concluded its investigation on January 13, 2022, which revealed that an unauthorized party was able to access some customers’ credit and debit card information between the dates of September 8, 2020 and November 24, 2021.
While the compromised information varies based on the consumer, it may include your name, credit or debit card number, expiration date, and security code number or CVV code.
On March 23, 2022, Leerburg Enterprises began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
Leerburg Enterprises is a video production and pet products business, which focuses on helping customers train their dogs. Leerburg Enterprises creates and sells various training videos, as well as the products trainers use in the videos. Leerburg Enterprises also offers an online dog-training course. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Menomonie, WI.
More About the Causes and Risks of Data Breaches
Often, data breaches are the result of a hacker gaining unauthorized access to a company’s computer systems with the intention of obtaining sensitive consumer information. While no one can know the reason why a hacker targeted Leerburg, it is common for hackers and other criminals to identify those companies believed to have weak data security systems or vulnerabilities in their networks.
Once a cybercriminal gains access to a computer network, they can then access and remove any data stored on the compromised servers. While in most cases a company experiencing a data breach can identify which files were accessible, there may be no way for the company to tell which files the hacker actually accessed or whether they removed any data.
While the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach does not necessarily mean it will be used for criminal purposes, being the victim of a data breach puts your sensitive data in the hands of an unauthorized person. As a result, you are at an increased risk of identity theft and other frauds, and criminal use of your information is a possibility that should not be ignored.
Given this reality, individuals who receive a Leerburg Enterprises data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like Leerburg are responsible for protecting the consumer data in their possession. If evidence emerges that Leerburg failed to adequately protect your sensitive information, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach lawsuit.
What Are Consumers’ Remedies in the Wake of the Leerburg Data Breach?
When customers decided to do business with Leerburg, they assumed that the company would take their privacy concerns seriously. And it goes without saying that consumers would think twice before giving a company access to their information if they knew it wasn’t going to be secure. Thus, data breaches such as this one raise questions about the adequacy of a company’s data security system.
When a business, government entity, non-profit organization, school, or any other organization accepts and stores consumer data, it also accepts a legal obligation to ensure this information remains private. The United States data breach laws allow consumers to pursue civil data breach claims against organizations that fail to protect their information.
Of course, given the recency of the Leerburg Enterprises data breach, the investigation into the incident is still in its early stages. And, as of right now, there is not yet any evidence suggesting Leerburg is legally responsible for the breach. However, that could change as additional information about the breach and its causes is revealed.
If you have questions about your ability to bring a data breach class action lawsuit against Leerburg Enterprises, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.
What Should You Do if You Receive a Leerburg Enterprises Data Breach Notification?
If Leerburg Enterprises sends you a data breach notification letter, you are among those whose information was compromised in the recent breach. While this isn’t a time to panic, the situation warrants your attention. Below are a few important steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft and other fraudulent activity:
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Identify What Information Was Compromised: The first thing to do after learning of a data breach is to carefully review the data breach letter sent. The letter will tell you what information of yours was accessible to the unauthorized party. Be sure to make a copy of the letter and keep it for your records. If you have trouble understanding the letter or what steps you can take to protect yourself, a data breach lawyer can help.
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Limit Future Access to Your Accounts: Once you determine what information of yours was affected by the breach, the safest play is to assume that the hacker orchestrating the attack stole your data. While this may not be the case, it’s better to be safe than sorry. To prevent future access to your accounts, you should change all passwords and security questions for any online account. This includes online banking accounts, credit card accounts, online shopping accounts, and any other account containing your personal information. You should also consider changing your social media account passwords and setting up multi-factor authentication where it is available.
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Protect Your Credit and Your Financial Accounts: After a data breach, companies often provide affected parties with free credit monitoring services. Signing up for the free credit monitoring offers some significant protections and doesn’t impact any of your rights to pursue a data breach lawsuit against the company if it turns out they were legally responsible for the breach. You should contact a credit bureau to request a copy of your credit report—even if you do not notice any signs of fraud or unauthorized activity. Adding a fraud alert to your account will provide you with additional protection.
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Consider Implementing a Credit Freeze: A credit freeze prevents anyone from accessing your credit report. Credit freezes are free and stay in effect until you remove them. Once a credit freeze is in place, you can temporarily lift the freeze if you need to apply for any type of credit. While placing a credit freeze on your accounts may seem like overkill, given the risks involved, it’s justified. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (“ITRC”), placing a credit freeze on your account is the “single most effective way to prevent a new credit/financial account from being opened.” However, just 3% of data breach victims place a freeze on their accounts.
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Regularly Monitor Your Credit Report and Financial Accounts: Protecting yourself in the wake of a data breach requires an ongoing effort on your part. You should regularly check your credit report and all financial account statements, looking for any signs of unauthorized activity or fraud. You should also call your banks and credit card companies to report the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach.
Below is a copy of the initial data breach letter issued by Leerburg Enterprises:
Dear [Consumer],
Leerburg Enterprises, Inc. (“Leerburg”) is contacting you to notify you of an incident that affects some of your payment card information used on our e-commerce website. We take the security of personal information in our care seriously and are providing you with this notice to make you aware of the incident, the steps we are taking in response, and steps you may take to help protect your personal information, should you feel it is appropriate to do so.
What Happened?
On March 4, 2021, we were notified that certain credit and debit cards used on our e-commerce website may have been subject to unauthorized access, and immediately began working to remedy the issue. We subsequently commenced an investigation with the assistance of payment card industry-accredited computer forensic specialists to determine the nature and scope of the activity. This investigation was concluded on January 13, 2022. As a result of the investigation, we determined that certain Leerburg customer payment card information for transactions that occurred on our e-commerce website between September 8, 2020 and November 24, 2021 was subject to unauthorized access and/or acquisition. Leerburg is notifying you because we have confirmed that your credit or debit card was used for a transaction on our e- commerce website during the relevant time period, and your information may be affected.
Once made aware of the issue, we remediated the issue that allowed the unauthorized access and/or acquisition to occur and implemented additional security enhancements to help prevent an incident from occurring in the future. There have been no further issues reported since the problem was remediated. Additionally, we commenced an extensive review of the payment card transactions made through our website during the relevant time period.
What Information Was Involved?
The information that was affected includes your name, credit or debit card number, expiration date, and security code number or CVV code.
What We Are Doing.
We take this incident and the security of personal information entrusted to us very seriously. Upon learning of this incident, we worked diligently to identify and remediate the issue. Leerburg has security measures in place to protect the information in our care, and we are working to implement additional safeguards moving forward. We have been in contact with the credit card brands about this issue, and we will be reporting this incident to certain state regulators and Attorneys General as required.
What You Can Do.
Leerburg encourages you to remain vigilant against incidents of potential fraud and/or misuse of your information, and to review the enclosed Steps You Can Take to Protect Personal Information. In addition, we encourage you to report any suspected incidents of identity theft to local law enforcement or your state Attorney General.
For More Information.
If you have questions that are not answered by this letter, you may call our dedicated assistance line at 1-833-774-2189, available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Central Time. Additionally, you can write to us at Leerburg, Enterprises, Inc., 406 Technology Drive West, Menomonie, Wisconsin 54751.
We sincerely apologize for this incident, and regret any inconvenience this incident may cause you. Leerburg takes the protection of the personal information within our care seriously and we remain committed to safeguarding your information.
