A prominent mortgage and loan firm headquartered in Coppell announced that a recent security breach might have impacted 14.69 million homeowners.
Mr. Cooper Group Inc., previously recognized as Nationstar Mortgage, did not disclose the specific cyberattack method responsible for the unauthorized access to customer data. Via a notice letter obtained by the Attorney General of Maine, stating that the attack was an “external system breach.” According to the letter, 59,917 of those affected are residents of Maine.
Update: Jan. 3, 2024 | 11:30 a.m. According to The Dallas Morning News, on Dec. 22, a lawsuit was initiated in a federal court located in Dallas, alleging that the Coppell company demonstrated negligence in safeguarding customer information. The lawsuit aims to secure financial compensation and enhance the company's security procedures.
The original story continues below.
According to NBCDFW, in November, the company initially asserted that the impact on affected customers was limited to around 4 million. This assurance was based on the belief that the banking information associated with mortgage payments, hosted by a third-party provider, remained uncompromised.
However, it was revealed that both current and former customers, totaling over 14 million individuals, are victims of the theft of their personal data. Following the discovery of the cyberattack on Oct. 31, 2023, Mr. Cooper shut down multiple systems and initiated a thorough investigation.
The data exposed during the attack encompassed customers' names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and bank account numbers. Mr. Cooper has not released any further information but acknowledged the data breach on their website. Local Profile reached out to Mr. Cooper for a statement but did not receive a response prior to publishing.
“To help support our customers, we are offering two years of free credit monitoring and identity protection services through TransUnion to any former or current (as of Oct. 31, 2023) Mr. Cooper customer or customers whose loans we service on behalf of our servicing partners,” a statement from the company said. “We will be directly notifying customers and providing them with enrollment instructions for the free identity protection services.”
The company stated that it is actively monitoring the dark web, but there is currently no evidence to suggest that the data associated with the incident has been utilized.
“We take our role as a mortgage company very seriously, and there is nothing more important to us than maintaining our customers’ trust," said Jay Bray, Chairman and CEO, Mr. Cooper Group. "I want you to know how sorry I am for any concern or frustration this may have caused. Making the homeownership journey as smooth as possible is our top priority, and we intend to make this right for our customers."
This article was originally published on Dec. 29, 2023.
