Did you renew your driver’s license or pay a fee to the California Department of Motor Vehicles using your credit card? You may want to keep a close watch on your credit card statements. That’s the message the state agency is sending to its customers after a hack affected its payment processor.
According to the DMV, the breach impacted its credit card payment processor, and that it was issuing the warning “out of an abundance of caution.” The agency notes that “There is no evidence at this time of a direct breach of the DMV’s computer system,”and says that it’s investigating the matter alongside state and federal law enforcement officials.
California has 38 million residents, so as you might imagine, this hack may impact a whole lot of people (though the DMV doesn’t specify how many might be affected).
If you think you may be affected by this breach, carefully monitor activity on your credit cards and watch for any fraudulent activity (you should be doing this already). If you notice anything unusual, contact your credit card company at once and alert them.
Also, consider placing a fraud alert on your credit report, just in case: This can help prevent an unauthorized person from opening financial accounts in your name. And if your financial institution provides a new card to you as a proactive measure, be sure to activate it immediately.