In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, Americans are looking for ways to avoid going out in public. Unfortunately, there are certain things we require to survive. Many of us have to venture out of our homes to acquire these items. However, in the wake of COVID19, online services such as GrubHub, Uber Eats and DoorDash have become increasingly popular. These services will bring you restaurant food to your door. Another one of the more popular online services, Instacart, has had what appears to be a data leak or have become the victim of a hacker. If you’ve never used it, Instacart is a service that delivers groceries directly to your door. If you have, Instacart customers, your personal data is being sold online.
Instacart Data Leak?
If you have ever used Instacart, it is very possible that your personal information is for sale on the dark web. As many as 278,531 accounts have had their information posted on websites which sell information to criminals. The information listed includes name, order history, email address, and last four digits of credit card numbers. An Instacart spokesperson told Buzzfeed news that they had “millions of customers” as of April 2020.
However, Instacart denies that they have had any sort of data breach. It would seem that with hundreds of thousands of customer’s data (specific to Instacart) listed for sale, there has been some sort of breach or leak.
What To Do If You May Be At Risk
If you’ve been an Instacart customer and you’re worried about becoming a victim of identity theft, here are a few steps to take to help protect yourself.
- Change your passwords. Not only should you change your Instacart password, you should change all of your passwords – especially if you use them in multiple places.
- Keep an eye on financial accounts. In the coming months, we recommend keeping close watch on your bank and credit card statements. The faster you detect fraudulent activity, the easier it will be to correct.
- Sign up as a member of an identity theft restoration service. A company like ReclaimMyID will restore your identity in a fraction of the time it would take you. Also, you will save money and provide yourself with piece of mind that should something happen you will be covered. However, you must sign up for these services before you know your identity has been stolen.
For some people, desperate times call for despicable measures. With everything going on in the world, more and more people are out to steal, cheat and lie in order to make it by. Instacart customers, your personal data is being sold online and hopefully you now have an idea of how to safeguard yourself.
