Review Your Account Statements
Carefully review statements sent to you from providers as well as from your insurance company to ensure that all of your account activity is valid. Report any questionable charges promptly to the provider’s billing office, or for insurance statements, to your insurance company.
Provide any updated personal information to your health care provider
Your health care provider’s office may ask to see a photo ID to verify your identity. Please bring a photo ID with you to every appointment if possible. Your provider’s office may also ask you to confirm your date of birth, address, telephone, and other pertinent information so that they can make sure that all of your information is up-to-date. Please be sure and tell your provider’s office when there are any changes to your information. Carefully reviewing this information with your provider’s office at each visit can help to avoid problems and to address them quickly should there be any discrepancies.
Order Your Free Credit Report
To order your free annual credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free at (877) 322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) website at www.ftc.gov and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The three credit bureaus provide free annual credit reports only through the website, toll-free number or request form. Upon receiving your credit report, review it carefully. Look for accounts you did not open. Look in the “inquiries” section for names of creditors from whom you have not requested credit. Some companies bill under names other than their store or commercial names; the credit bureau will be able to tell if this is the case. Look in the “personal information” section for any inaccuracies in information (such as home address and Social Security Number). If you see anything you do not understand, call the credit bureau at the telephone number on the report. Errors may be a warning sign of possible identity theft. You should notify the credit bureaus of any inaccuracies in your report, whether due to error or fraud, as soon as possible so the information can be investigated and, if found to be in error, corrected. If there are accounts or charges you did not authorize, immediately notify the appropriate credit bureau by telephone and in writing. Information that cannot be explained should also be reported to your local police or sheriff’s office because it may signal criminal activity.
How to Activate Kroll Identity Monitoring Services
As a safeguard, we have arranged for you to activate, at no cost to you, in online identity monitoring services provided by Kroll. To activate this service, please the instructions for activation in your notice letter. The monitoring included in the membership must be activated to be effective. You have 6 months from the date of your notice letter to activate these services. Please note that identity monitoring services may not be available for individuals who do not have an address in the United States (or its territories) and a valid Social Security number. Activating this service will not affect your credit score. We encourage you to take advantage of these protections and remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft, including regularly reviewing and monitoring your credit reports and account statements.
Contact the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
If you detect any unauthorized transactions in any of your financial accounts, promptly notify the appropriate payment card company or financial institution. If you detect any incidents of identity theft or fraud, promptly report the matter to your local law enforcement authorities, state Attorney General and the FTC. You can contact the FTC to learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft by using the contact information below:
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Response Center 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338) www.ftc.gov/idtheft/
Place a Fraud Alert on Your Credit File
To protect yourself from possible identity theft, consider placing a fraud alert on your credit file. A fraud alert helps protect against the possibility of an identity thief opening new credit accounts in your name. When a credit grantor checks the credit history of someone applying for credit, the credit grantor gets a notice that the applicant may be the victim of identity theft. The alert notifies the credit grantor to take steps to verify the identity of the applicant. You can place a fraud alert on your credit report by calling any one of the toll-free fraud numbers provided below. You will reach an automated telephone system that allows flagging of your file with a fraud alert at all three credit bureaus.
Security Freezes
You have the right to request a credit freeze from a consumer reporting agency, free of charge, so that no new credit can be opened in your name without the use of a PIN number that is issued to you when you initiate a freeze. A security freeze is designed to prevent potential credit grantors from accessing your credit report without your consent. If you place a security freeze, potential creditors and other third parties will not be able to get access to your credit report unless you temporarily lift the freeze. Therefore, using a security freeze may delay your ability to obtain credit. Unlike a fraud alert, you must separately place a security freeze on your credit file at each credit bureau. To place a security freeze on your credit report you must contact the credit reporting agency by phone, mail, or secure electronic means and provide proper identification of your identity. The following information must be included when requesting a security freeze (note that if you are requesting a credit report for your spouse, this information must be provided for him/her as well): (1) full name, with middle initial and any suffixes; (2) Social Security number; (3) date of birth; (4) current address and any previous addresses for the past five years; and (5) any applicable incident report or complaint with a law enforcement agency or the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The request must also include a copy of a government-issued identification card and a copy of a recent utility bill or bank or insurance statement. It is essential that each copy be legible, display your name and current mailing address, and the date of issue.
Below, please find relevant contact information for the three consumer reporting agencies:
Equifax Security Freeze |
Experian Security Freeze |
TransUnion Security Freeze |
www.equifax.com |
www.experian.com |
www.transunion.com |
888-298-0045 |
888-397-3742 |
888-909-8872 |
P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348 |
P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 |
P.O. Box 160 Chester, PA 19094 |
Once you have submitted your request, the credit reporting agency must place the security freeze no later than 1 business day after receiving a request by phone or secure electronic means, and no later than 3 business days after receiving a request by mail. No later than five business days after placing the security freeze, the credit reporting agency will send you confirmation and information on how you can remove the freeze in the future.
For Residents of Massachusetts
You have the right to obtain a police report with respect to this incident. If you are the victim of identity theft, you also have the right to file a police report and obtain a copy of it.
For Residents of New York
You may also obtain information about security breach response and identity theft prevention and protection from the New York Attorney General’s Office: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341, 1-800-771-7755, www.ag.ny.gov.
For Residents of North Carolina
You may also obtain information about preventing and avoiding identity theft from the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office: North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Division, 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, 1-919-716-6000, www.ncdoj.gov.
For Residents of Oregon
State laws advise you to report any suspected identity theft to law enforcement, as well as the Federal Trade Commission. Contact information for the Oregon Department of Justice is as follows: Oregon Department of Justice, 1162 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301, 1-877-877-9392, www.doj.state.or.us.