A data breach at 700Credit, a company that provides credit reports to automotive dealers and credit bureaus, has exposed sensitive information on about 5.6 million consumers, according to KrebsOnSecurity.
700Credit, a credit reporting provider, has revealed a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of approximately 5.6 million consumers — another reminder of how far one security slip can reach through the automotive sales and financing world.
The compromised information includes names, addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth, according to a company notice and the Michigan attorney general’s statements. The company, a top credit-check provider for auto dealers across the US, said the breach stemmed from an integration partner and its public API, with compromised records coming from dealer activities between May and October 2025.
What Happened in the 700Credit Breach, and What Was Revealed
Attackers gained access to consumer data after the connection used by an integration partner was violated, allowing unauthorized queries on 700Credit systems, investigators say. The breach was discovered in late October and the company said it had started to notify affected individuals and its dealer clients. Not everyone’s complete set of information was exposed, but there is enough in some people’s cases — such as name, address, Social Security number and date of birth — for identity fraud of various kinds.
Dana Nessel, the Michigan attorney general, warned residents not to disregard the mailed notices and advised them to act quickly. 700Credit said it is providing those affected with free credit monitoring. Useful as they are for alerting you to suspicious activity, however, the monitoring services aren’t a substitute for protective measures like credit freezes.
Why This Breach Matters for Auto Buyers and Dealers
Events in which Social Security numbers are compromised create lasting risk. Unlike passwords or payment cards, SSNs and birth dates don’t change, so the exposed data remains useful to criminals for years. Auto dealers scan our credit during financing, trade-ins and service-related transactions, which centralizes that sensitive information in services like 700Credit’s and leaves the fallout to spread when those systems are breached.
This incident exemplifies a larger trend. That threat isn’t just theoretical: The 2017 Equifax breach underscored how consumer credit data can be weaponized en masse, and recent attacks compromising supply chains were cause for fear as well, confirming that third-party links in the chain could provide soft targets. IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report puts the global average cost from a breach at $4.88 million, with customer personal data being some of the most expensive but also common records exposed — figures that don’t take into account identity theft in the long tail for victims.
API and Third-Party Exposure on the Rise
As companies connect with partners to make underwriting, identity verification and financing processes more streamlined, APIs become critical data arteries — and common attack surfaces as well.
The OWASP API Security Top 10 has always cautioned against broken authorization and over-exposure of data, where it’s now being referenced for best practice measures spoken by CISA and NIST including least-privilege scopes with your API keys, token rotation, strict rate limiting, which all comes back to real-time anomaly detection of irregular access patterns.
For the auto retail industry, which relies on networks of lenders and inventory suppliers and compliance tools, a compromise in one link can ripple across countless companies. The 700Credit breach is poised to send dealers and lenders back to the drawing board on vendor due diligence, incident response playbooks and just how much data they really need to hold onto.
What Affected Consumers Should Do Now to Protect Themselves
Stop waiting for fraud to happen. If you get a notice, sign up for the free credit monitoring from 700Credit and follow the enrollment instructions in the letter — don’t click on links in unsolicited emails or texts.
Consider a credit freeze with all three nationwide bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Credit freezes are available free of charge, are reversible and prevent new credit checks unless you lift the freeze temporarily. Another option is a fraud alert, which requires lenders to go the extra mile in verifying your identity.
Check your credit reports often — more of them are available free online every week. Watch your bank, credit card and insurance statements for suspicious activity or unknown accounts. If you believe someone has impersonated you, report it to the Federal Trade Commission and ask the I.R.S. about possibly obtaining an Identity Protection PIN to guard against a fraudulent tax refund in your name.
Be alert to phishing. Scams frequently follow high-profile breaches, with cybercriminals pretending to be legitimate companies as they seek passwords, one-time codes or payment information. 700Credit will never ask you for your account password in an email or text message.
What Comes Next for 700Credit, Dealers, and Regulators
700Credit says it will notify any impacted individuals and is cooperating with its partners to secure the lines of communication.
Regulatory attention often follows major exposures of consumer financial data, and state breach notification laws can lead to investigations. Dealers and lenders that knowingly worked with the affected integration will evaluate their own exposure and response.
The takeaway is simple but pressing: in a sector characterized by intertwined systems, third-party and API security should be regarded as core risk, rather than back-office detail. For the 5.6 million people affected by this breach, a little bit of diligence right now can help prevent the odds from turning into fraud later on.
