Yet another large-scale personal information heist came to light today with news that the information of entrants to Simon Cowell’s star-seeking program, X-Factor, were stolen. About 250,000 U.S. residents are expected to be affected by the attack, which is currently under investigation by the FBI.
Thankfully for that quater-million people, the stolen information contained no financial or password information. However, the records could have include an entrant’s name, date of birth, gender, zip code, phone number, and email address. Identity theft is a risk, but the FOX network, which carries X-Factor in the U.S., is far more concerned that the scammers could pose as FOX officials and use the information to dupe contestants into giving out valuable personal information. So, to those that recently took a stab at fame, be extra wary of suspicious emails.
Read on after the break to see the text of an email FOX has sent out to those affected by this security breach.
This week, we learned that computer hackers illegally accessed information you and others submitted to us to receive information about The X Factor auditions.
It is possible that the information you did provide to us, which included your name, email address, zip code, phone number (which was optional), date of birth, and gender, may have been accessed.
We are taking this matter very seriously and are working with federal law enforcement authorities to investigate this illegal action.
The X Factor will never ask you to email personal information such as financial data, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers or the user name or passwords you use to access other websites.
If you receive an email that appears to be from Fox.com or The X Factor asking for personal information, please delete it, as it did not come from us.
(Monsters and Critics via The Next Web)
