Clawson Honda of Fresno Hit by Ransomware Attack, Exposing Customer and Employee Data
Clawson Honda of Fresno, a family-owned dealership in California’s Central Valley, disclosed a data breach after detecting suspicious network activity on February 27, 2025. An investigation revealed unauthorized access to sensitive files between February 27 and 28, 2025, with personal data potentially accessed or copied. The breach was reported to the California Attorney General’s office on January 21, 2026.
The PLAY ransomware group claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening to leak stolen data including confidential documents, client records, payroll, and accounting files on the dark web. Exposed information includes names, addresses, Social Security numbers, driver’s license details, financial account data, and medical records.
Clawson Honda offered affected individuals complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection through Experian. The law firm Shamis & Gentile P.A. is investigating potential legal claims for compensation on behalf of victims.
The incident underscores the growing risk of ransomware attacks targeting automotive dealerships and their sensitive customer and employee data.
Source: https://www.claimdepot.com/investigations/clawson-honda-data-breach-2026
Clawson Honda of Fresno cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/clawson-honda-of-fresno
"id": "CLA1769207884",
"linkid": "clawson-honda-of-fresno",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "2/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Automotive',
'location': 'Fresno, California, USA',
'name': 'Clawson Honda of Fresno',
'type': 'Automotive Dealership'}],
'customer_advisories': 'Offered complimentary credit monitoring and identity '
'theft protection through Experian',
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Names, addresses, '
'Social Security '
'numbers, driver’s '
'license details, '
'financial account '
'data, and medical '
'records',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Customer records',
'Employee records',
'Payroll data',
'Accounting files']},
'date_detected': '2025-02-27',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2026-01-21',
'description': 'Clawson Honda of Fresno, a family-owned dealership in '
'California’s Central Valley, disclosed a data breach after '
'detecting suspicious network activity on February 27, 2025. '
'An investigation revealed unauthorized access to sensitive '
'files between February 27 and 28, 2025, with personal data '
'potentially accessed or copied. The PLAY ransomware group '
'claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening to leak '
'stolen data including confidential documents, client records, '
'payroll, and accounting files on the dark web.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': 'Names, addresses, Social Security numbers, '
'driver’s license details, financial account '
'data, and medical records',
'identity_theft_risk': 'High',
'payment_information_risk': 'High'},
'initial_access_broker': {'data_sold_on_dark_web': 'Threatened to leak stolen '
'data'},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
'ransomware': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes', 'ransomware_strain': 'PLAY'},
'references': [{'source': 'California Attorney General’s office breach '
'notification'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'legal_actions': 'Potential legal claims for '
'compensation',
'regulatory_notifications': 'Reported to California '
'Attorney General’s '
'office'},
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Offered complimentary credit '
'monitoring and identity theft '
'protection through Experian',
'law_enforcement_notified': 'California Attorney General’s '
'office',
'third_party_assistance': 'Shamis & Gentile P.A. (law firm '
'investigating potential legal '
'claims)'},
'threat_actor': 'PLAY ransomware group',
'title': 'Clawson Honda of Fresno Hit by Ransomware Attack, Exposing Customer '
'and Employee Data',
'type': 'Ransomware'}