How Did the Filters Fast LLC Data Breach Occur?

Filters Fast LLC allegedly allowed millions of consumers to shop on their website during an ongoing data breach earlier this year.

When Was the Filters Fast Data Breach?

According to an August data breach notice from Filters Fast LLC, hackers added malicious code to the company’s website on July 15, 2019. On July 10, 2020 – nearly a year later – the code was removed in a website update.

“The security of our customers’ information is always a priority, and we sincerely regret any inconvenience to you,” Filters Fast writes in their data breach notice to consumers. “We have been working tirelessly to improve the security of our systems to prevent something like this from happening ever again.”

How Did Filters Fast LLC Respond?

Unfortunately, Filters Fast did not respond to the breach in a timely fashion. Although the company was informed of the issue in February 2020, the company did not inform consumers as soon as they suspected a data breach. Instead, Filters Fast says they hired an “outside, expert forensics firm” to “analyze” their data systems and figure out if there was a breach of these systems.

The investigation did not confirm the malicious code on the website until July 20, 2020. The code was removed 10 days earlier due to an unrelated update.

Who Is Affected By The Filters Fast Breach?

Based on an estimate of around 500,000 website visits per month, millions of consumers could have made purchases during the data breach period. Unfortunately, RapidSpike estimates that 3.4 million of these visitors may have been unnecessarily exposed to the data breach risks during the five month period in which Filters Fast LLC investigated the issue.

What Information Was Included In The Filters Fast Data Breach?

A variety of information was compromised in the year long data breach, including names, shipping addresses, billing addresses, and payment card information. Although this data may have been stolen by hackers, Filters Fast notes that no other personal information is at risk of being impacted.

What Can I Do After The Filters Fast Data Breach?

According to Filter Fast’s notice, consumers can enroll in a free year of MyIDCare services from ID Experts as a part of the company’s efforts to help consumers. These services include 12 months of credit monitoring and CyberScan monitoring, a $1 million insurance reimbursement policy, and theft recovery services.

Consumers can enroll in this free offer by using the enrollment code including in the notice sent to them by Filters Fast. The deadline to enroll in this offer is Nov. 14, 2020.

However, if you didn’t receive a notice or want to take further action to protect yourself, you can take any of the following steps:

• Contact your bank: If you’re concerned about your payment card information, you can contact your bank about getting a new card or freezing your account. Your bank will also be able to help if you find fraudulent purchases on your card.
• Place a fraud alert: By contacting the credit reporting bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian), you can put a fraud alert on your credit profile. This is will indicate that fraudulent activity may occur on your account. If such activity occurs, including if an account is opened in your name, you can be alerted by credit monitors.
• Monitor your credit: By using a credit monitoring service, either free or paid, you can monitor your profile for unexpected activity. If an account shows up on your credit report unexpectedly, you can quickly set to resolving the issue and having the fraudulent report removed. This can protect you from negative credit score consequences.
• Check your bank account: By reviewing your bank statements, you can monitor for unexpected charges to your account. Like with credit fraud, catching these charges early can help resolve them quickly.
• Be proactive about future breaches: You can protect yourself from future breaches by using strong passwords. However, some breaches may be unavoidable as the responsibility lies with the company’s failed cyber security.

Can You File a Filters Fast LLC Data Breach Lawsuit?

After a data breach, taking legal action against the company responsible may be another option. If a company is guilty of negligently failing to protect consumer data, they may be ordered to pay damages to consumers who were injured by their actions.

If Filters Fast LLC failed to protect consumer data or otherwise mismanaged the data breach – for example, by failing to inform consumers promptly – they may be legally liable. Filing a Filters Fast data breach lawsuit or class action lawsuit can help recover compensation.