FBI Probes 153 Million Driving Licence Records Sale — Plus Your Week Ahead
The FBI is investigating a service that claims to be selling more than one hundred and fifty three million driving licence records. The records are said to have been gathered from a number of sources over time, and investigators are still working out exactly what is inside the haul.
If you hear about this story online, there is one thing to avoid. Do not hand your details to a website that claims to check whether you have been affected. That is a common trick. Scammers use frightening headlines to push people towards fake checking tools, then charge a fee or harvest even more of your information.
If you genuinely want to know whether your details have appeared in a breach, use a reputable service, and never pay a stranger for a check.
Treat your driving licence number like your bank details. It is used to prove your identity in a lot of places, so only share it when you are certain who you are dealing with and why they need it.
What else is happening this week
It is Monday, so here is the week ahead.
Patch Tuesday lands in the next couple of days. That is the day software companies release their regular security updates, and a large batch is expected this month. You do not need to understand what is inside the update. You just need to install it. By the end of the week your phone, laptop or tablet will ask to restart. Let it. Those updates close the gaps that criminals look for.
If you have not already, turn on automatic updates on every device in the house, including the older ones that sometimes get forgotten.
Don't panic, just prepare
Our monitoring teams continue to see an active dark web leak site doing the rounds. The advice here has not changed. Use strong, unique passwords and switch on two factor authentication for the accounts that matter most, such as email and banking.
And if somebody calls you claiming your details have leaked and offers to fix it for a fee, put the phone down. That is a scam. No genuine breach response involves paying a stranger to sort it out.
Your one job this week
Tonight, before bed, check your phone and computer for updates and switch on automatic updates. Do that, and you have taken the single most useful step available to you.
Stay safe.
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