Farmer's Rice Cooperative Data Breach Affects 4,210

Farmer's Rice Cooperative, a major California-based rice marketing cooperative, experienced a major data breach impacting thousands of individuals. The company discovered suspicious activity on its network on Aug. 31, 2024. An investigation revealed that a ransomware attack took place from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, 2024.

The cybercriminal group known as PLAY claimed responsibility for the breach, which was later publicized on the dark web on Sept. 4, 2024. The cybersecurity incident compromised the personal information of at least 4,210 individuals.

Exposed information may have included names, contact information, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and driver's license or state ID numbers. The cybercriminals claimed to have stolen a wide range of documents, including client files, budget details, payroll records, accounting data, contracts, tax information and identification documents.

Farmer's Rice Cooperative began notifying affected individuals by mail on July 1, 2025. The data breach was also disclosed to the California and Maine Attorney Generals' offices beginning on Aug. 19, 2025.

Farmer's Rice Cooperative's response

In addition to required state and federal disclosures, Farmer's Rice Cooperative is offering affected individual free IDX identity monitoring services, which includes credit and CyberScan monitoring, a $1,000,000 insurance and fully managed ID theft recovery services. Affected individuals have until Oct. 1, 2025, to enroll in these services.

If you receive a notice from Farmer's Rise Cooperative about this breach, you may want to:

• Sign up for the free IDX identity theft protection services, offered by the company.
• Monitor your credit reports and financial accounts for any unusual activity.
• Be alert for phishing emails or phone calls that may use your exposed information.
• Consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with major credit bureaus.

More information can be found on the Farmer's Rice Cooperative website.