Financial Services and Consumer Privacy

U.S. fintech and credit‑services firm 700Credit disclosed that a breach tied to one of its third‑party integration partners exposed personal data for more than 5.8 million people, including Social Security numbers, after an attacker abused an exposed API to access auto‑dealership customer records between May and October. The compromise, which went undetected until suspicious activity was flagged on Oct. 25, resulted in roughly 20% of consumer data in the affected system being copied, and 700Credit is offering impacted individuals 12 months of free identity protection and credit monitoring through TransUnion.