On November 14, 2023, Securities America, Inc. (“SAI”) filed a notice with the Attorney General of Vermont describing a data breach at McCord LLC, an unaffiliated company that registers its financial professionals with SAI. In this notice, SAI explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names, Social Security numbers, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and financial account numbers. Upon completing its investigation, SAI began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you receive a letter from Securities America, Inc. discussing a data breach at McCord LLC, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Securities America / McCord data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Data Breach Affecting Securities America Clients?

The McCord / Securities America data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, SAI’s filing with the Attorney General of Vermont provides some important information on what led up to the breach.

According to this source, back in 2022, SAI detected suspicious activity within an advisor’s email account. In response, SAI secured the account and initiated an investigation on December 29, 2022.

The SAI investigation confirmed that an unauthorized party had gained access to the advisor’s email account, which contained confidential information pertaining to certain clients. However, at no point were Securities America systems impacted by the incident; any unauthorized access was limited to the advisor’s email account.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Securities America reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, Social Security number, address, date of birth, driver’s license number, and financial account number.

On November 14, 2023, Securities America sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.

More Information About Securities America, Inc.

Founded in 1984, Securities America, Inc. is a financial services company based out of la Vista, Nebraska. Securities America is part of Advisor Group, which now goes by the name Osaic. Osaic is a large network of independent wealth management firms based in Phoenix, Arizona. Securities America employs more than 645 people and generates approximately $232 million in annual revenue.