Advantage Media Services Data Breach: PII Exposed

Advantage Media Services LLC (AMS), a full-service advertising and media agency based in the Columbus, Ohio area, disclosed a data breach that occurred in September 2025 after an unauthorized actor accessed the company's server environment and copied data.

The company has not publicly disclosed the total number of individuals affected in the United States.

The breach was reported to the California Attorney General on March 31, 2026.

What happened in the Advantage Media Services data breach

In September 2025, AMS became aware of suspicious activity within its computer systems, according to the company's notification to affected individuals. The company began an investigation and took steps to contain and remediate the situation.

The investigation determined that an unauthorized actor briefly gained access to the company's server environment between Sept. 8, 2025, and Sept. 9, 2025, a window of roughly one day. During that time, the actor copied certain data from the company's systems.

The investigation continued in the months following the breach, focusing on determining whether personal information was included in the copied data.

The specific types of personal information exposed varied by individual. At this time, the specific types of information exposed as a result of the breach are publicly undisclosed.

Advantage Media Services' response to the breach

AMS is offering affected individuals 12 months of free identity monitoring services through Kroll, described in the notification as a global leader in risk mitigation and response. The monitoring package includes credit monitoring to help track changes to credit files, fraud consultation to address potential identity theft concerns and identity theft restoration to assist with recovery if fraud occurs.

Affected individuals can activate their coverage by visiting Kroll's enrollment page and entering the membership number included in their notification letter. Each letter also includes a specific deadline by which the recipient must enroll to receive coverage.

For anyone with additional questions about the incident, the company has set up a toll-free assistance line at 844-403-4531. Representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Time, excluding U.S. holidays.

Steps to take if your information was exposed

• Review financial account statements carefully for any unauthorized or suspicious activity and report concerns to financial institutions immediately.
• Request free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies and review them for unfamiliar accounts, inquiries or other unusual activity.
• Consider placing a fraud alert or security freeze on credit files by contacting Equifax at 1-800-685-1111, Experian at 1-888-397-3742 or TransUnion at 1-833-799-5355.
• Be cautious of phishing attempts that reference Advantage Media Services or this data breach by name, as scammers may use real breach notifications to trick people into sharing additional personal details.
• Report suspected identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-438-4338 or to local law enforcement if any signs of fraud or unauthorized use of personal information appear.