PHOENIX — A mortgage and mortgage servicing company says the personal data of every current and former customer was exposed, including names, birth dates and social security numbers.
Mr. Cooper, which was formerly called Nationstar, said the breach affected nearly 15 million people across the country, including in Arizona.
Letters to those customers went out in the last few weeks, though in SEC filings, the company said it detected the breach on October 31 of last year.
The SEC filing said the company detected an unauthorized third party accessed the information, which also included addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
The company is offering free credit monitoring for two years.
Also according to the SEC filing, Mr. Cooper has set aside $25 million to deal with the costs of the data breach.
A spokesperson for Mr. Cooper sent a statement that reads:
On October 31, 2023, Mr. Cooper Group (“Mr. Cooper” or “the Company”) experienced a cyber incident in which an unauthorized third-party gained access to certain of our technology systems. Upon detection, the Company initiated response protocols, launched an investigation with the assistance of cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident, and contacted law enforcement. Mr. Cooper also made the decision to shut down systems to contain the incident and in an effort to protect customer information.
Through the investigation, Mr. Cooper identified that files containing personal information were obtained by an unauthorized party.
While Mr. Cooper continues its investigation into the matter, the Company has made the decision to provide two years of free credit monitoring and identity protection services to any former or current (as of Oct. 31, 2023) Mr. Cooper customer or customers whose loans Mr. Cooper services on behalf of its servicing partners. These services will be provided by Cyberscout through Identity Force, a TransUnion company specializing in fraud assistance and remediation services. We will be mailing notification letters that will contain enrollment instructions for the free identity protection services.
Mr. Cooper has set up a dedicated call center supported by TransUnion at 1-833-960-4745 (toll-free), available Monday through Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm ET. Customers looking for more information may also visit www.mrcooperincident.com.
“We take our role as a mortgage company very seriously, and there is nothing more important to us than maintaining our customers’ trust. I want you to know how sorry I am for any concern or frustration this may have caused. Making the homeownership journey as smooth as possible is our top priority, and we intend to make this right for our customers,” said Jay Bray, Chairman and CEO, Mr. Cooper Group.
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