The Marker Group markergroup.com

The Marker Group data breach: what happened and what to do

The Marker Group, a litigation support company, found suspicious activity on September 3, 2021. Its Maine filing counts 14,041 people. Names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and health information were involved.

View all 13,177 breaches
Breach date
3 Sept 2021
Affected
14,041
Data exposed
Names, Dates of birth, Social security numbers, Health information
Last updated

Reviewed by Anthon Wansland

Head of Product & Co-Founder

Serus is a privacy company with paid tools to find and remove your personal data. This page is free and based on official sources.

What happened

The Marker Group Inc. provides litigation support services to law firms. It said it found suspicious activity on parts of its network on September 3, 2021. The investigation later found that certain files may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party.

You might never have heard of the company. People are caught up in this kind of breach because they were part of a legal matter, and the files came with it. Notification letters began going out in late December 2021, and the company offered one year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection through TransUnion.

Sources checked: maine.gov, jdsupra.com, atg.wa.gov

Last verified against the official page:

How we research this Report an error

How many people

The company's filing with the Maine Attorney General lists 14,041 people in total, 9 of them Maine residents. The Washington Attorney General's list shows 1,493 Washington residents, which is one state's share of the same total.

What was exposed

Reports of the notice describe names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and protected health information.

What that means for you

A name, date of birth and Social Security number are enough to try to open credit or file a tax return in your name. Health information adds material for scams that pose as an insurer or a lawyer. The files were tied to a legal matter, so be wary of any message about a case that asks for money or details.

What to do if you were in it

  1. 1

    Freeze your credit

    If your Social Security number or date of birth was involved, place a free credit freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The FTC explains how. A freeze blocks most new accounts opened in your name and you can lift it whenever you apply for credit. Take the TransUnion monitoring if your letter offers it.

  2. 2

    Expect messages that mention the breach

    Messages about a lawsuit, a claim or your health plan are the likeliest follow-up. Don't click links or call numbers in them. Go to the company's own website instead, as the FTC advises.

  3. 3

    Check your credit reports

    Get your free reports at annualcreditreport.com and look for accounts you don't recognize.

  4. 4

    Report misuse

    If someone uses your details, report it at IdentityTheft.gov to get a recovery plan.

  5. 5

    Check whether your email or phone is in this and other breaches

    Run a free Serus scan. It checks breach databases for your email, phone and other details, and Serus keeps watching and alerts you when they show up in a new leak.

Official filings

Timeline

  1. The breach happened

  2. Reported to the California Attorney General

  3. Reported to the Washington Attorney General

Frequently asked

Was I affected by the Marker Group breach?

If you got a notice letter, yes. The company's Maine filing lists 14,041 people in total.

Why was my data with this company?

The Marker Group supports law firms in litigation, so the files related to people in legal matters.

Is the 1,493 figure the total?

No. That is the number of Washington residents. The Maine filing lists 14,041 people overall.

Sources

Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.

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Related guides

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How to opt out of prescreened credit card offers (OptOutPrescreen) optoutprescreen.com Remove yourself from Equifax equifax.com Remove yourself from Experian experian.com Remove yourself from TransUnion transunion.com

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