The latest data breach report from Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) continues to highlight the ubiquitous dangers of personal data compromises and the identity crimes that often follow.

In just the first half of 2025, data breaches impacted over 165 million people in the United States. According to the ITRC, there have been 1,732 data compromises within the first six months of 2025.

Cyberattacks were the leading cause, responsible for 1,348 breaches and over 114 million notices to victims. Supply chain attacks alone affected 78.3 million people via 690 organizations.

Most alarmingly, 69% of breach notifications lacked key details, including how the attack occurred, leaving consumers in the dark.

Among these troubling stats, the ITRC sounds the alarm about how previously compromised data (PCD) is being recirculated, leaving both organizations and consumers vulnerable, including massive collections of records of usernames and passwords.

While these may not be “new” breaches, they’re being used in credential stuffing, fraud, extortion attempts and many scams.

It is no longer about whether your data is breached, it’s about how often and what’s done with it. Many data breach victims are prone to:

• Targeted phishing scams using breached data.
• Unauthorized access to their email, financial, and healthcare accounts.
• Ongoing fraud risks from recycled credentials and exposed personal info.

How to Stay Protected

Here’s what you can do right now to reduce your risk:

• Use strong, unique passwords for every account — and store them in a password manager.
• Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible.
• Monitor your credit and financial accounts for signs of fraud.
• Freeze your credit to prevent unauthorized loans or accounts in your name.
• Sign up for breach alerts to get notified if your data appears in a new incident.
• Use scam detection tools from Bitdefender to fend of criminals. Use Bitdefender Link Checker to safely preview links before visiting them, especially if they’re shared via email or messaging apps. Double-check suspicious messages, proposals, offers and even QR codes with Bitdefender Scamio, a free AI-powered scam detector that helps you spot fake offers, phishing attempts, and fraud.

 Get Peace of Mind with Bitdefender

To truly safeguard your identity in this ever-evolving threat landscape, consider these powerful tools:

• Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection: Get real-time alerts if your data surfaces on the Dark Web, and see where your personal info has been exposed.
• Bitdefender Identity Theft Protection (for US only): Stay protected with 24/7 identity monitoring, credit tracking, and expert recovery assistance if fraud occurs.