Stockpile stockpile.com Stockpile data breach: what happened and what to do
Stockpile, the stock-gifting and investing app, said that around July 9, 2020 it found an unauthorized person had accessed a cloud folder with personal information from account registration, potentially as early as April 17, 2020.
View all 13,177 breaches- Breach date
- 17 Apr 2020
- 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
Stockpile, Inc. filed a breach notice with the California Attorney General. The notification letter says that on or about July 9, 2020, the company discovered that an unauthorized person had gained access to a folder in its cloud environment. The incident potentially began as early as April 17, 2020.
Sources checked: oag.ca.gov, consumer.ftc.gov, identitytheft.gov
Last verified against the official page:
What was in the folder
According to the letter, the folder held personal information collected as part of Stockpile's registration process. The California Attorney General's listing describes names, addresses, Social Security numbers and government-issued IDs. Which of these applies to you depends on what you provided when you signed up. No total number of affected people is given in the sources used for this page.
What it means for you
Registration data for an investing account is the kind of information used to open credit or financial accounts in someone else's name. A Social Security number and a photo ID together are enough for many applications. The data can also be used for phishing that mentions your brokerage account.
Notice and follow-up
Stockpile sent notification letters through Experian, according to the copy on the California Attorney General's site. If you opened a Stockpile account in or before 2020, look through your mail and email for that letter and read what it offers.
What to do if you were in it
- 1
Freeze your credit at all three bureaus
A credit freeze is free and stops lenders from seeing your credit report, which blocks most new accounts in your name. Place it separately at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, as the FTC explains. This matters most if you gave Stockpile a Social Security number or ID.
- 2
Check your investment and bank accounts
Look at your statements for transfers or logins you don't recognize, and turn on two-factor login on any brokerage account.
- 3
Read your notice letter
It says what protection Stockpile offers and how to take it up.
- 4
Treat messages that mention the breach as suspect
Scammers quote real breach details to look legitimate. Don't click links or call numbers in unexpected messages. Go to the company's website yourself, and see the FTC's phishing guide.
- 5
Report misuse at IdentityTheft.gov
If someone opens an account or files a return in your name, report it at IdentityTheft.gov and follow the recovery plan it gives you.
Official filings
- California Attorney General , filed 19 Aug 2020
Timeline
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The breach happened
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Reported to the California Attorney General
Frequently asked
Was I affected by the Stockpile breach?
If Stockpile sent you a notification letter, yes. If you registered an account around 2020 and didn't get one, ask Stockpile support.
What was exposed?
Personal information collected at registration. The California Attorney General's listing names addresses, Social Security numbers and government-issued IDs among them.
Should I freeze my credit?
If you gave Stockpile a Social Security number or ID, yes. A freeze is free, and the FTC recommends it to block new accounts in your name.
Sources
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