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Knowledgebase Home | Favorites | Forum Welcome to our knowledge base. To find what you're after, use the search box below or choose a category to view listed articles. Search the Knowledgebase Browse by Category [Advanced Search] -- Select Category -- Credit MythbustersLoans    - Personal Loans    - Auto Loans    - Home Loans    - Student LoansCredit CardsCredit Reports and ScoresCredit Report CardIdentity TheftDebt HelpConsumer Law Guide    - College Cost Reduction and Access Act    - Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act)     - Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA)    - Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)    - Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA)    - Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)    - Fair Debt Collection Practices Act    - Overdraft Rules for Debit and ATM CardsCustomer Support The article has been updated successfully. Knowledgebase Home > Identity Theft What is a data breach? Article Details Last Updated 13th of April, 2010 Would you like to... Discuss Print this page Email this page Post a comment Subscribe me Add to favorites Remove Highlighting Edit this Article Quick Edit Export to PDF User Opinions (2 votes) 50% 50% How would you rate this answer? Helpful Not helpful Help us improve. Why was this unhelpful? Thank you for rating this answer. A data breach is a situation in which information is either lost by or stolen from an organization or individual. Financial information, medical records, customer information, and student data are all examples of information that has been accessed as a result of data breaches. Such breaches can result in identity theft. The incidents can occur under a number of different scenarios. Hacked databases and stolen laptops, PDAs, and USB flash drives containing sensitive information account for many breaches. More than 75 percent of states now legally require organizations to contact affected individuals when a data breach occurs. If your information has been compromised in a data breach, it's important to immediately place a fraud alert on your credit file and to carefully monitor your credit reports for signs of identity theft. Learn more about identity theft and how to protect yourself. Related Articles What are credit and fraud monitoring? My lender is not reporting my account to the credit bureaus; what should I do? Is my personal data secure when I submit the application for the Credit Report Card? Can a collection company pull my credit report without authorization? How do I modify my car loan? Continue