IdentityTheftSolutionTips
MADISONVILLE, KY. (02/21/15) – The insurance giant, Anthem, discovered on Jan. 29 that cyber hackers implemented an attack to gain unauthorized access to its IT system to obtain personal information. Current or former members of Anthem or Anthem affiliated health plans may have been impacted. In addition, some members of other independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, who received healthcare services in any of the areas that Anthem served over the last 10 years, may be affected.
According to an email from Anthem, information accessed may include names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health care ID numbers, home addresses, email addresses, employment information, including income data and dependent’s information. Anthem does not believe credit card or banking information was compromised, nor is there evidence at this time that medical information such as claims, test results or diagnostic codes were obtained.
As soon as the attack was discovered, Anthem immediately began working to close the security vulnerability and contacted the FBI. Anthem states they have been fully cooperating with the FBI and also retained a cyber security firm to assist in their investigation and to strengthen security of their systems.
Workforce Development Operations Administrator Kentucky Career Center Madisonville Stan Hill said employees at the Career Center are covered under Anthem Insurance and are potentially victims of the recent breach. Hill said he has reminded his staff to be vigilant in their efforts to protect themselves against fraud and identity theft.
“The first thing I recommended to them is to pull their credit report,” Hill said. “Everyone should be safe and be protective of their personal information.”
He said they should not only monitor personal IDs and credit but also their children’s. Sharing of personal information on social media should be minimal, Hill said.
He has ordered information booklets that will be available to employees and customers of Madisonville KCC on how to recognize scams, email hacks and charity fraud; and, ways to monitor credit card activity, project against identity theft, and information on reporting suspected incidences to local law enforcement or to the Federal Trade Commission.
Anthem is providing identity protection services to all individuals that are impacted. AllClear ID, an ID protection service is available for two years at no cost.
Anthem will individually notify current and former members potentially impacted by U.S. Mail with specific information on how to enroll in free credit monitoring and identity protection services. These services will be provided free of charge. Anthem also has established a dedicated website, AnthemFacts.com, where members can access additional information, including frequently asked questions.
Anthem recommends that potentially impacted members remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft, including reviewing account statements and monitoring credit reports.
All suspected incidents of identity theft should be reported to local law enforcement, Federal Trade Commission or the Kentucky Attorney General. To learn more, go to the FTC’s Web site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.
Other precautions to help avoid hacking, scams and ID theft possibilities would be:
DO NOT reply to email or reach out to unknown senders in any way.
DO NOT supply any personal information on a website that may open if you have clicked on a link in email from an unknown or unverified sender.
DO NOT open any attachments that arrive with email from unknown senders.
Hill’s primary message to his staff is, “be cautious and careful; don’t give away too much information, do not click on websites and attachments received through email from unknown or unverified senders, check your credit report regularly, and sign up for a credit monitoring service.”
Tammy Holloway
SurfKY News Reporter
© Copyright 2015 SurfKY News Group, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, or rewritten without permission. SurfKY News encourages you to share this story on social media.
Article source: http://surfky.com/index.php/component/content/article/51-top-news-for-all-sites/57871-local-administrators-warn-employees-to-watch-for-id-theft
Technorati Tags: identity, theft
A post from: Identity Theft Solution Tips