NEW YORK (NEWSnet/AP) —Theft of sensitive information belonging to millions of AT&T customers was found.

A dataset found on the “dark web” contains information including some Social Security numbers and pass codes for about 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account members.

AT&T has begun to notify customers whose personal information was compromised.

Although varying by each customer and account, AT&T says that information involved in this breach included Social Security numbers and pass codes.

Full names, email addresses, mailing address, phone numbers, dates of birth and AT&T account numbers also may have been compromised. Data is from 2019 or earlier and does not appear to include financial information or call history, the company said.

Consumers affected should receive an email or letter directly from AT&T.

AT&T reset codes of current users. The company will pay for credit-monitoring service, if applicable.

Avoiding a data breach entirely is unrealistic, but consumers can take some steps to help protect themselves. Basics include creating hard-to-guess passwords and using multi-factor authentication. If you receive a notice about a breach, change your password and monitor account activity for any suspicious transactions.

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