The NBA is notifying fans of a data breach after some of their personal information, “Held” by a third-party newsletter service, was stolen.
The NBA is a global sports and media organization that manages five professional sports leagues, including the NBA, WNBA, Basketball Africa League, NBA G League, and NBA 2K League.
“We recently became aware that an unauthorized third party gained access to, and obtained a copy of, your name and email address, which was held by a third-party service provider that helps us communicate via email with fans who have shared this information with the NBA,” the NBA says.
The NBA also warned that, due to the sensitive nature of the data involved, there is an increased likelihood that the affected individuals might be targeted in phishing attacks and various scams.
Affected fans were strongly encouraged to remain vigilant when opening suspicious emails or communications that may seem to originate from the NBA or its partners.
“Given the nature of the information, there may be heightened risk of you receiving ‘phishing’ emails from email accounts appearing to be affiliated with the NBA, or of being targeted by other so-called ‘social engineering’ attacks (where an individual seeks to trick the target into sharing confidential information or otherwise taking actions contrary to his or her own interest,” the NBA said.