It is one thing for Facebook to be hacked or a computer to be infected with malware, but sometimes personal data can fall into the hands of hackers even when they have done nothing wrong

For example, a new data breach against the popular discount store chain Dollar Tree exposed the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers (SSN) of approximately 2 million former and current employees of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar

As reported by BleepingComputer, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar operate 16,622 retail stores in the US and Canada But now, following a security incident that occurred on August 7-8 of this year, employees of the retail chain may be at risk of targeted phishing attacks and other cyber attacks

During the security incident in question, the perpetrator hackers gained access to the systems of a third-party service provider used by Dollar Tree and successfully stole a large amount of sensitive data Whether you currently work for Dollar Tree or Family Dollar, used to work for them, or know someone who does, here is everything you need to know about this data breach and the next steps you should take

Like many other data breaches in the past, this incident was not caused by negligence on the part of Dollar Tree Instead, a third-party service provider called Zeroed-In, which the company and many others use, was the victim of a security incident in August

In a letter sent to those affected by the breach, Zeroed-In explained that its initial investigation was able to determine that its systems had been accessed by hackers However, the company was unable to identify any specific files that were "accessed or taken by the wrongdoers"

From here, Zero-In identified exactly what was on the company's systems at the time of the attack in order to determine exactly what personal information may have been compromised

While we know that both Dollar Tree and Family Dollar were affected by this data breach, the impact could be even greater because other companies also use Zero-In's HR analytics platform We will update this article if that turns out to be the case

If you are a current or former employee of Dollar Tree or Family Dollar, you have received or will receive a letter from Zero-In informing you of this data breach

The letter itself provides guidance on what to do next, explaining that Zero-In will provide affected individuals with IdentityForce single-bureau credit monitoring and identity theft protection for the next 12 months However, to activate the service, they must log into the IdentityForce site and provide the unique code provided in the letter

In addition to taking advantage of this campaign, it is a good idea to look closely at your bank statements for signs of fraud, such as large transactions you don't remember Hackers have also successfully stolen users' SSNs so they can take out loans and credit cards in your name

Data breaches like the ones described above happen more often than you might think However, if you are proactive and take advantage of the offers and support offered by the affected companies, you are less likely to have your personal information stolen Nevertheless, there is nothing worse than being in this situation even though you have done nothing wrong