Could your financial data be at risk due to the potential exposure of 2.9 billion Social Security numbers?

• A lawsuit claims that approximately 2.9 billion people's personal financial data may have been compromised.
• One expert predicts that it's not a question of if, but when you will personally experience a data breach.
• Experts recommend one crucial action to safeguard your personal information.

A new proposed class action lawsuit claims that approximately 2.9 billion people may have had their personal information hacked.

It is reported that all Americans may have had their personal information compromised, including full names, current and past addresses, Social Security numbers, and information about their parents, siblings, and other relatives.

According to the lawsuit, the alleged April 2024 breach happened when National Public Data, a background check company owned by Jerico Pictures Inc., failed to secure the information it scraped. The company offers instant search access to billions of records.

Neither National Public Data nor Jerico Pictures returned requests for comment by CNBC.

According to Cliff Steinhauer, director of information security and engagement at The National Cybersecurity Alliance, if the information is accurate, it would imply that everyone is affected.

James E. Lee, chief operating officer at the Identity Theft Resource Center, stated that the breach may not be as extensive as the reports suggest.

The total number of people affected by the data breach could be reduced if there were fewer records per individual compromised, if other countries were also affected, and if much of the information leaked was already available elsewhere, according to him.

'You're vulnerable forever'

Massive data breaches are not new.

The 2017 Equifax data breach was estimated to have affected half the U.S. population, while the 2013 Yahoo data breach may have affected all the company's accounts, or 3 billion people in total.

The latest breach should put consumers on high alert, as experts advise.

"It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when," Steinhauer said. "I'd be surprised if there are many people who haven't been affected by a data breach like this already, just because of the sheer number of breaches that have happened that contain similar data."

In 2025, the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment may be 2.6%. The inflation breakdown for July 2024 is as follows. The U.S. construction boom is causing rents to decrease.

Notifications of data breaches from affected companies are typically how consumers discover that their information may have been compromised.

If you receive a data breach notice, there's a high likelihood that you will experience an identity crime within 12 months, according to Lee.

The risks associated with an identity breach do not expire once your information has been exposed, even if it is not possible to directly link a breach to a cracked identity.

"You're vulnerable forever," Lee said.

Freezing your credit is the 'number one piece of advice'

Experts advise that the most effective way to safeguard your personal records is by placing a security freeze on your credit reports, which restricts access to your information.

If you suspect your data has been compromised, the first step is to immediately change your passwords.

When you receive a data breach notice, the most crucial action to take is to freeze your credit, according to Lee.

You can quickly and cost-free request your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus, which are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Although freezing your credit will restrict access to your credit reports, it won't entirely prevent it. Your records will still be accessible to certain companies and under specific conditions.

If you want to apply for a new credit card or auto loan, you may get rejected if your credit is frozen.

Before freezing your credit, be cautious and ensure you're not clicking on a fraudulent domain that pretends to be one of the three major credit bureaus, which could be operated by hackers, advised Steinhauer.

He advised against opening personal records on public Wi-Fi.

Purchasing additional protection through dark web monitoring services can provide peace of mind, but it won't prevent anything from happening, Lee stated.

Steinhauer advised consumers to use multi-factor authentication and a password manager to ensure they have strong and unique passwords.