The breach at 700Credit has once again shown how fragile centralized identity systems can be and why the growing push for digital ID systems is so reckless.
The company, which provides credit and identity verification tools to auto dealerships across the United States, confirmed that personal data belonging to at least 5.6 million people was stolen in an October cyberattack.
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In a notice on its website, 700Credit described the attacker as an “unidentified bad actor.”
The stolen data, gathered from dealerships between May and October 2025, included names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. These are the same details that financial institutions across the country rely on to verify identity.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel urged residents to take the company’s outreach seriously. “If you get a letter from 700Credit, don’t ignore it,” she said.
“It is important that anyone affected by this data breach takes steps as soon as possible to protect their information. A credit freeze or monitoring services can go a long way in preventing fraud, and I encourage Michiganders to use the tools available to keep their identity safe.”
700Credit stated that it is sending written notices to affected individuals and offering credit monitoring services.
But the larger issue runs deeper. Companies that handle identity verification store enormous collections of highly sensitive data, leaving individuals exposed when that information is compromised.
Once stolen, identifiers like Social Security numbers cannot be replaced, and their misuse can continue for years.
This breach shows a structural weakness in digital identity systems. Centralized databases may simplify verification for businesses, yet they also create a single point of failure for millions of people.
