Data breaches are up 58 percent in the first half of the year and are on a record-setting pace. Herb Weisbaum, a Consumers' Checkbook contributing editor, discusses how to safeguard your online accounts.

Data Breaches Skyrocket; Here's How to Safeguard Your Online Accounts

Welcome to the Identity Theft Resource Center's (ITRCs) Weekly Breach Breakdown for October 3, 2025. I'm Tatiana Cuadras, Communications Assistant for the ITRC. Thanks to Sentilink for supporting the ITRC and this podcast. Each week, we look at the most recent events and trends related to data security and privacy. Today, we are going to break down a warning from the FBI about the phantom hacker scam making the rounds and the financial impacts it is having on consumers. 

Many people are familiar with the comic book hero The Phantom. In the very first Phantom story, the phrase “The phantom only warns once” was uttered to describe the uncompromising justice of the Ghost Who Walks and the finality of his warnings. There are no acts of justice or heroism to be celebrated regarding the type of phantom we are about to discuss. 

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The Weekly Breach Breakdown Podcast: The Phantom Only Warns Once – The Phantom Hacker Scam - S6E30

ID Theft Center

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