When a company's records are wrongly accessed, lost, or stolen, your sensitive information (like your Social Security Number, driver's license, or bank account details) could land in the hands of a criminal.
This information can then be used to create a false identity in order to open new accounts, file a tax return, or gain access to your credit cards. As a result, your credit could be blemished with unpaid accounts, and if you don’t take steps to close fake accounts under your name, you could receive phone calls from collection agencies. A data breach can happen to any business, whether a local dental clinic or a big online retailer.