French taxpayers warned after personal data stolen in major hack

JUST IN: More than 670,000 French taxpayers are being notified after their personal and tax data was stolen and allegedly offered online, with authorities warning it could be used for scams and identity fraud.

670,000 French taxpayers just found out their personal data is in criminal hands.

Names, personal details, tax information, stolen from the French tax system and allegedly put up for sale online. Everyone affected is being notified right now, and the warning from authorities is blunt. Expect scams. Expect identity fraud attempts. If you're one of the 670,000, someone out there may already know enough about you to impersonate you convincingly.

This has gone straight to the top. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is holding a meeting on the digital security of government institutions, which tells you how seriously Paris is taking it. Because this isn't a retailer losing your email address, this is the state itself, the one institution you cannot opt out of giving your data to.

And that's the part that stings. You can close a bank account. You can't close your tax file.

This is Liu Yang, reporting for HIT.

Source Read the original reporting at france24.com