Every Montanan May Have Had Their Social Security Number Stolen

Massive Data Breach Leaves Montanans Vulnerable

If you've never had your identity stolen or had your bank account hacked, consider yourself lucky, because it's a huge pain in the rear.

Sadly, your luck may have just run out after a recent data breach has left every Montana resident along with every citizen across America exposed for identity theft.

READ MORE: An Open Letter To The Jerk That Stole My Identity: You Suck

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How Your Identity Could Have Been Stolen

A hacker group by the name of USDoD claimed to have stolen 2.7 billion records, which included a person's full name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and phone number, along with alternate names and birth dates.

They stole this information from National Public Data, which does background checks for staffing agencies, businesses, private investigators, or anyone who requests it, according to a class-action lawsuit as reported on by Yahoo News.

READ NEXT: Montana Police Say 'Remove This From Your Wallets NOW'

What Steps Should You Take To Protect Yourself?

If you are worried you might be at risk for identity theft, first you should freeze your credit files with any of the 3 major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

Also, it would probably be smart to change your passwords for anything you've got tied to your bank information, including banking apps, subscription services, and shopping apps.

Setting a two-factor authentication, which requires two forms of identification to access resources and data, is also smart to do going forward.

Find out more about the data breach and the lawsuit here.