Posted On December 14, 2022 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
December 14, 2022 – North Star Leasing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Peoples Bancorp, filed notice of a data breach with the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. The company filed this notice after learning that an unauthorized party had gained access to sensitive customer information entrusted to the company. Based on the company’s official filing, the incident resulted in an unauthorized party gaining access to consumers’ names, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers and driver’s license numbers. After confirming that consumer data was leaked, North Star Leasing began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals who were impacted by the recent data security incident.
If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating the North Star Leasing data breach on behalf of people whose information was exposed. As a part of this investigation, we are providing free consultations to anyone affected by the breach who is interested in learning more about the risks of identity theft, what they can do to protect themselves, and what their legal options may be to obtain compensation from North Star Leasing.
The available information regarding the North Star Leasing breach comes from the company’s filing with the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, a division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. Unfortunately, the information North Star Leasing provided to the Massachusetts AG provides little insight into the breach and how it was caused. However, we know that the incident involved a breach of electronically-stored information.
Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, North Star Leasing began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, Social Security number, financial account numbers and driver’s license number.
On December 12, 2022, North Star Leasing sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
Founded in 1979, North Star Leasing is an equipment-financing company based in Burlington, Vermont. North Star Leasing works with small and large companies to finance a wide range of business-related equipment, including automotive equipment, brewery equipment, construction equipment, distillery equipment, general business equipment, HVAC equipment, landscaping equipment, maple syrup production equipment, manufacturing equipment, medical equipment, pet equipment, plumbing and sewer equipment, restaurant equipment, transportation vehicles & accessories, and warehouse equipment.
North Star Leasing is a division of Peoples Bancorp (“Peoples Bank”). Founded in 1902, Peoples Bank is a financial institution based out of Marietta, Ohio, which offers a wide range of banking, trust and investment, insurance, premium financing and equipment leasing solutions through its subsidiaries. Peoples Bank has approximately $7 billion in assets under management and operates 113 branches in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Maryland. The company’s subsidiaries include Peoples Investment Services, Peoples Premium Finance, North Star Leasing, Peoples Insurance Agency, LLC and Vantage Financial. Peoples Bancorp employs more than 1,245 people and generates approximately $264 million in annual revenue.
In 2021 alone, data breaches affected more than 320 million consumers, more than any other year in history. And, as we approach the end of 2022, it appears that there will only be a modest decrease in the total number of breaches. Given the frequency with which data breaches occur, as well as the potentially devastating consequences that often follow in their wake, it is essential for all consumers—but especially those who receive a data breach letter—to know what to do if your information is leaked in a data breach.
When planning a cyberattack, hackers hope to steal consumer information which they can either sell on the dark web or use themselves to commit identity theft. While there is nothing you can do to prevent a data breach from happening, there are steps you can take in the aftermath to reduce the chances of falling victim to fraud.
Below is a list of things you can do after learning about a data breach to limit your risks. Following these steps will reduce the chances of being a victim of fraud. However, this is not an exhaustive list, and if your financial account numbers or Social Security number were leaked, consider taking additional precautions.
After a company experiences a data breach affecting your personal information, it usually sends you a data breach letter in the mail. In fact, companies are required to notify victims anytime they leak consumer data. These letters explain the breach, what led up to it, what the company has done to prevent future breaches, and whether the company has received any reports of fraud from other victims. Thus, the first thing to do is to carefully review the data breach letter to determine whether your information was leaked and, if so, what data was compromised.
Hackers generally try to use stolen information quickly to avoid giving victims a chance to close their accounts. However, hackers might need to gather additional information before having enough data to commit fraud against a victim. When this is the case, it may not be until weeks or months after a breach that hackers can use the stolen information. Often, by this point, consumers have let their guard down, and hackers can take advantage of that. Therefore, it is imperative that you not only check up on your accounts right after the breach but also that you continue to do so well into the future.
Credit monitoring is a fee-based service provided by dozens of different companies. When you sign up for credit monitoring, the company will alert you if there is any suspicious activity on your credit profile. Usually, credit monitoring costs between $20 to $40 per month. However, companies will often offer victims of a data breach free credit monitoring for a period of time—usually between one to two years. Indeed, Lone Star Leasing is offering this service at no cost to victims for 24 months. Signing up for credit monitoring is free and provides you with an easy way to keep an eye on your credit profile. Also, taking a company up on its offer of free credit monitoring doesn’t affect your right to bring a data breach lawsuit against the company if it was negligent in maintaining your information.
Fraud alerts and credit freezes are free services offered by the three major credit bureaus. A fraud alert puts companies that pull your credit on notice that there is reason to believe that an unauthorized party may be attempting to use your information. A credit freeze offers additional protection by preventing any company from pulling your credit without your advance approval. The Identity Theft Resource Center has repeatedly explained that placing a credit freeze on your credit account is the single best way to prevent fraud after a data breach.
At Console & Associates, P.C., our consumer privacy lawyers monitor all security and data breaches to help affected consumers pursue their legal remedies. We offer free consultations to victims of data breaches and can explain your rights in clear, understandable terms so you can make an informed decision about how to proceed with your case. If you’ve been affected by the North Star Leasing data breach or any other data security incident, Console & Associates, P.C., will investigate your case at no charge and offer you thorough advice about how to most effectively proceed with your case. If you decide to bring a case, we only get paid if you do. If your claim is successful, any legal fees are either paid by the defendant or come out of the funds recovered from the defendant. If your claim doesn’t result in a recovery, you will pay nothing.
To schedule your free consultation, just call (866) 778-5500 today or fill out our secure contact form.
Below is a copy of the initial data breach letter issued by North Star Leasing (the actual notice sent to consumers can be found here):
Dear [Redacted],
North Star Leasing, a division of Peoples Bank of Marietta, Ohio (“We” or “North Star”) is writing to inform you about a recent event that may impact the privacy of some of your personal information. We are providing you with details about the event, steps we have taken in response, and resources available to assist you with safeguarding your information, should you feel it is appropriate to do so. We value and respect the privacy and security of the information entrusted to us. As such, upon becoming aware of the event, we promptly began a comprehensive investigation and worked diligently to confirm its potential impact on our systems and data.
Our investigation has not revealed evidence of identity theft or fraud. Nevertheless, we are offering you 24 months of complimentary credit monitoring services through Experian as an added precaution; enrollment instructions are provided below. Additionally, there are several steps individuals can take to protect themselves and remain vigilant against incident theft and fraud following any data privacy event. These steps include reviewing your bank account statements, credit reports, and monitoring your tax return status for suspicious activity and to detect errors.
You may also enroll in the complimentary credit monitoring services being offered to you. Due to privacy restrictions, we are unable to act on your behalf, so if you would like to enroll in these services, please do so by following the instructions immediately below:
[Redacted]
We understand that you may have questions that are not addressed in this notice. If you have additional questions, please call our dedicated assistance line at (833) 420-2828, which is available from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM EST Monday through Friday (excluding major U.S. holidays).
