1. Who is affected?
If a person has a credit card or banking account with Chase, or if they’re a client of its private bank, and have signed into chase.com or jpmorgan.com via the Internet or mobile devices in past years, they could be one of those affected.
2. What information was taken?
The bank said there is no financial information is at risk. JPMorgan Chase said that names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses were stolen from the company’s servers, but only customers who use the websites Chase.com and JPMorganOnline and the apps ChaseMobile and JPMorgan Mobile were affected.
3. What should customers do?
J.P. Morgan says customers don’t need to change their passwords or account information. The bank has reiterated that it hasn’t seen unusual levels of fraud since the attack, and that customers won’t be liable for any unauthorized transactions on the account if the bank is notified. Local experts say customers should inspect their accounts on a daily basis.
4. What should people look out for?
It is possible for hackers to use stolen email addresses to send fake emails to Chase customers that trick them into logging in to an impostor Chase website. This is also known as phishing. Chase urges customers “to be cautious of any communications that ask for your personal information. Don’t click on links or download attachments in emails from unknown senders or other suspicious email. We will never ask you to enter your personal information in an email or text message.”
5. What does this mean for customers?
The Chase heist is even more disturbing than the recent retail breaches because banks are supposed to have fortress-like protection against intruders, said Gartner security analyst Avivah Litan.
“This is really a slap in the face of the American financial services system,” Litan said. “Honestly, this is a crisis point.”
Chase’s assurances that they haven’t found any evidence of the personal data being misused shouldn’t be misinterpreted as a reason to rest easy. The information still could be used in a variety of ways to rip off people in the months and years ahead.