Recently, LFI Ft. Pierce, Inc., also known as Labor Finders, announced that the company experienced a data security incident resulting in as many as 8,677 individuals’ sensitive information being compromised.

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 Labor Finders Data Breach

Labor Finders is the consumer-facing name of the company LFI Ft. Pierce, Inc, which is a temporary staffing and employment agency based in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The company provides industrial labor to more than 200,000 customers. Labor Finders oversees over 200 franchise locations across the United States and fills about 16,000 jobs per day.

According to a letter issued by the company, on January 8, 2022, Labor Finders learned of unauthorized activity on its computer network. In response, the company secured its systems and then launched an investigation into the incident. Subsequently, Labor Finders confirmed that the unauthorized party gained access to and may have removed certain files containing sensitive consumer information.

Upon learning of the extent of the security breach, Labor Finders then reviewed the affected files to determine what information was accessible to the unauthorized party. While the compromised information varies by consumer, it may include individuals’ full names and Social Security numbers.

On March 10, 2022, Labor Finders began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.

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 Labor Finders, 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 Labor Finders data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like Labor Finders are responsible for protecting the consumer data in their possession. If evidence emerges that Labor Finders 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 Labor Finders Data Breach?

When customers decided to do business with Labor Finders, 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 Labor Finders 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 Labor Finders 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 Labor Finders, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.

What Should You Do if You Receive a Labor Finders Data Breach Notification?

If Labor Finders 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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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 LFI Ft. Pierce, Inc.:

Dear [Consumer],

We are writing with important information regarding a recent security incident. The privacy and security of the personal information we maintain is of the utmost importance to LFI Ft. Pierce DBA Labor Finders. We wanted to provide you with information about the incident, explain the services we are making available to you, and let you know that we continue to take significant measures to protect your personal information.

What Happened?

On January 8, 2022, we discovered unauthorized access to our network.

What We Are Doing

Upon learning of this issue, we contained and secured the threat and commenced a prompt and thorough investigation. We immediately launched an investigation in consultation with outside cybersecurity professionals who regularly investigate and analyze these types of situations to help determine whether any sensitive data had been compromised because of the incident. Our investigation determined that the unauthorized individual(s) may have removed certain files and folders from portions of our network.

What Information Was Involved?

On February 11, 2022, following an extensive review and analysis of the data at issue, we determined that the files and folders potentially removed from our network contained your personal information, specifically your full name and Social Security number.

What You Can Do.

To date, we are not aware of any reports of identity fraud or improper use of your information as a result of this incident. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, we want to make you aware of the incident. To protect you from potential misuse of your information, we are offering a complimentary one-year membership of Experian IdentityWorksSM Credit 3B. This product helps detect possible misuse of your personal information and provides you with identity protection services focused on immediate identification and resolution of identity theft. IdentityWorks Credit 3B is completely free to you and enrolling in this program will not hurt your credit score. For more information on identity theft prevention and IdentityWorks Credit 3B, including instructions on how to activate your complimentary one-year membership, please see the additional information provided in this letter.

This letter also provides other precautionary measures you can take to protect your personal information, including placing a Fraud Alert and Security Freeze on your credit files, and obtaining a free credit report. Additionally, you should always remain vigilant in reviewing your financial account statements and credit reports for fraudulent or irregular activity on a regular basis.

For More Information.

Please accept our apologies that this incident occurred. We are committed to maintaining the privacy of personal information in our possession and have taken many precautions to safeguard it. We continually evaluate and modify our practices and internal controls to enhance the security and privacy of your personal information.

If you have any further questions regarding this incident, please call our dedicated and confidential toll-free response line that we have set up to respond to questions at [redacted]. This response line is staffed with professionals familiar with this incident and knowledgeable on what you can do to protect against misuse of your information. The response line is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 6:30 pm Eastern Time, excluding major U.S. holidays.