Pay Tel Communications Breach Exposes Social Security Numbers

Pay Tel Communications Inc, a North Carolina-based telecommunications company specializing in technology and services for correctional facilities, disclosed a data breach that may have affected consumers' personal information.

The breach was reported to the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation in a filing on Sept. 28, 2026, which identified 71 Massachusetts residents as affected. Consumer notification letters were also dated Sept. 28, 2026.

Separately, on June 26, 2025, DragonForce, a ransomware group, posted on the dark web claiming it had obtained 398.63 GB of data from Pay Tel Communications.

The compromised data allegedly included video and audio call recordings, work-related documents and scans of physical mail. The group stated it intended to publish the stolen data within six to seven days.

Notably, Pay Tel posted a security statement on its website on May 29, 2026, stating they had recently contained a security vulnerability. At this time, it remains unclear if the data incident is connected to the security flaw.

The types of consumer information confirmed to have been exposed in the breach included Social Security numbers.

Pay Tel Communications' response to the breach

The company is offering affected individuals 24 months of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection through Experian IdentityWorks.

To activate these services, affected individuals can visit the Experian IdentityWorks enrollment page and enter the unique activation code included in their notification letter. All enrollments must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026.

Pay Tel has set up a dedicated toll-free assistance line at 833-918-6034 for consumers with questions about the incident. The line is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, excluding major U.S. holidays.