MARLTON, N.J. - Jan. 26, 2022 - PRLog -- Console & Associates, P.C. recently determined that the firm will open an investigation into the recent Spencer Gifts, LLC data breach. The firm intends to determine what, if any, legal remedies those impacted by the breach have against the company. If evidence emerges that Spencer Gifts failed to implement adequate data security measures to protect the privacy of affected consumers, the company may be financially liable through a data breach class action lawsuit.

A data breach occurs when someone—usually a hacker or some other criminal actor—gains access to consumer data housed on a company's servers. While there are a few ways breaches like this can occur, they are often the result of an unauthorized person hacking into a company's network. While not every data breach results in an unauthorized party accessing or using consumer data, one of the most common reasons why hackers conduct cyberattacks is to obtain information needed to commit identity theft.

News of this data breach is very recent, and the investigation is still in its early stages. However, the mere existence of the breach raises serious concerns about Spencer Gift's efforts to keep consumer data secure from cyber threats. If it turns out that the company mishandled consumer data leading up to the breach or failed to ensure adequate security measures, affected parties may be eligible for financial compensation.

Attorney Richard Console explains, "It's easy to place all the blame for a data breach on the person who hacks into an organization's system; however, this ignores the legal and moral obligation that these companies owe to customers. When someone gives a company their business, they trust that the information in the organization's possession will remain private—and out of the hands of criminals. While protecting consumer data requires a business to undergo some effort and expense, in our current environment of widespread hacking, this is a cost of doing business that all organizations must take seriously."

According to Spencer Gifts, LLC, on November 25, 2021, 2021, the company noticed issues with the "availability and functionality" of its computer network. While the company did not elaborate on the cyberattack, it revealed that it conducted a further investigation into the incident, confirming that an unauthorized party gained access to the company's network between November 24 and November 26, 2021. It was then determined that the compromised files related to the company's employee health plan and contained the full names, Social Security numbers, health plan information, and financial account information of 10,024 individuals who were or currently are employed by Spencer Gifts.

Around January 24, 2021, Spencer Gifts, LLC sent out data breach notifications, describing what occurred and informing affected parties of what they could do to protect themselves. While Spencer Gifts has no knowledge that any of the compromised data was used by the unauthorized party, the company encouraged those impacted by the breach to keep a close eye on their credit report and financial accounts for any signs of identity theft or fraud.

Those receiving a data breach letter from Spencer Gifts should take the following steps to protect themselves:

1.)   Carefully review the letter sent by Spencer Gifts;
2.)   Retain a copy of the data breach notification letter;
3.)   Enroll in the free credit monitoring service provided by Spencer Gifts;
4.)   Change all passwords and security questions to online accounts;
5.)   Frequently review all credit card and bank account statements for any signs of fraud or unauthorized activity;
6.)   Monitor credit reports for any unexpected changes or signs of identity theft;
7.)   Contact a credit bureau to request a temporary fraud alert; and
8.)   Notify all banks and credit card companies of the data breach.

To learn more about this data breach, please visit https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/data-breach-alert-spencer-gifts-llc/.

Console & Associates P.C. is dedicated to protecting consumers' privacy interests. The firm investigates all types of data breaches, ransomware attacks and other network intrusions to determine the legal rights of consumers who trusted corporations with their sensitive information. Consumers can reach Console & Associates, P.C. through the firm's website at https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/consumer-privacy-data-breach-lawyers/.