Optima Tax Relief, LLC

On December 1, 2019, Optima Tax Relief, LLC experienced an external system breach (hacking) that went undetected until November 2, 2022. The incident, reported by the Maine Office of the Attorney General on May 2, 2023, compromised sensitive personal data of 5,027 individuals, including 15 Maine residents. The exposed information included Social Security numbers, a high-value target for identity theft. While the breach’s delayed discovery raised concerns about prolonged vulnerability, the company responded by offering 12 months of identity theft protection services to affected individuals. The attack’s focus on financial and personally identifiable information (PII) underscores its potential for severe downstream consequences, such as fraud or long-term reputational harm to the company. The breach’s scale and the nature of the stolen data critical for tax and financial identity highlight systemic risks in data security practices, particularly in sectors handling sensitive client information.

Source: https://www.maine.gov/agviewer/content/ag/985235c7-cb95-4be2-8792-a1252b4f8318/c0976e63-a29e-49aa-9df5-20d58d3e834d.shtml

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/optimataxrelief

"id": "opt154082025",
"linkid": "optimataxrelief",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "12/2019",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 5027,
                        'industry': 'Financial Services / Tax Relief',
                        'name': 'Optima Tax Relief, LLC',
                        'type': 'Private Company'}],
 'attack_vector': 'External System Breach (Hacking)',
 'customer_advisories': 'Identity theft protection services offered for 12 '
                        'months',
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': 5027,
                 'personally_identifiable_information': True,
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Social Security Numbers']},
 'date_detected': '2022-11-02',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2023-05-02',
 'description': 'On May 2, 2023, the Maine Office of the Attorney General '
                'reported a data breach involving Optima Tax Relief, LLC, '
                'which occurred on December 1, 2019. The breach was discovered '
                'on November 2, 2022, and resulted from an external system '
                'breach (hacking), affecting 5,027 individuals, including 15 '
                'residents in Maine. The compromised information included '
                'Social Security numbers, and identity theft protection '
                'services were offered for 12 months.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['Social Security Numbers'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (Identity theft protection services '
                                   'offered for 12 months)'},
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2023-05-02',
                 'source': 'Maine Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': 'Maine Office of the '
                                                       'Attorney General'},
 'response': {'remediation_measures': 'Offered identity theft protection '
                                      'services for 12 months'},
 'title': 'Optima Tax Relief, LLC Data Breach (2019)',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}