Current or former employees of Dollar Tree or Family Dollar may be affected by a data breach that exposed their personal information to hackers. Here’s what to know about the incident and how to protect yourself.
What happened?
Dollar Tree is a discount retail company that operates the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores in 23,000 locations in the United States and Canada. The company offers a variety of products at low prices, from household items to groceries.
According to a data breach notification shared with the Maine Attorney General, Dollar Tree’s service provider, Zeroed-In, suffered a security incident between August 7 and 8, 2023. Zeroed-In is a software company that provides workforce analytics and employee engagement solutions to Dollar Tree.
“While the investigation was able to determine that these systems were accessed, it was not able to confirm all of the specific files that were accessed or taken by the unauthorized actor,” stated the letter sent to affected individuals. “Therefore, Zeroed-In conducted a review of the contents of the systems to determine what information was present at the time of the incident and to whom the information relates.”
As part of this cyberattack, the threat actors managed to steal data containing the personal information of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar employees. The data included names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, employee IDs, hire dates, termination dates, and salary information.
What is being done?
Dollar Tree said it is working with Zeroed-In and law enforcement to investigate the incident and prevent further unauthorized access. The company also said it is providing free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to the affected individuals for one year.
They also advised the affected individuals to monitor their credit reports, bank accounts, and other financial statements for any suspicious activity. The company also recommended them to place a fraud alert or a security freeze on their credit files to prevent identity theft.
What to do?
For the affected individuals, take advantage of the free services offered by Dollar Tree and follow the steps outlined above. Also, be wary of any phishing emails or phone calls that may try to trick you into revealing personal or financial information.
Do not click on any links or attachments in unsolicited emails or text messages, and do not provide any information to callers who claim to be from Dollar Tree or Zeroed-In.
Report any identity theft or fraud incidents to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the state attorney general, and the local police department. Find more information on how to report identity theft and protect yourself at www.identitytheft.gov
Data breaches are becoming more common and more severe in today’s digital world. Always be vigilant and proactive in safeguarding personal and financial information from hackers and scammers.
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