Anthem data breach leaves personal information vulnerable

Scammers have been targeting some of the 80 million people who may have had patient information hacked during the Anthem data breach in an attempt to gather personal information. There are several things that consumers can do after any data breach to help protect themselves.

Here are some tips from the Better Business Bureau:

Visit Anthem’s website at www.anthemfacts.com for the latest information on the data breach. They are offering free credit monitoring for 24 months through All Clear ID. This is being offered to current and former customers dating back to 2004.

Set up a yearly credit report plan. Visit www.annualcreditreport.com to request a free credit report from Equifax, Experian & TransUnion. You are eligible to receive this free credit report annually. A good rule of thumb is to space those out and request one every four months from the different reporting agencies.

Consider a credit freeze. This is when a credit report is taken out of circulation and only existing creditors are allowed access to it. There may be a fee involved and must be placed with all three major credit bureaus. It stays indefinitely until you remove it.
Protect your child’s information. It may have been compromised with the Anthem data breach whose records are tied to the parent’s accounts. A child’s social security profile is “clean” and valuable to identity thieves.

Be on the look out for credit card offers, jury duty notices, collection attempts, etc., which is a good indication your child’s information was compromised. Request a free credit report from the three major credit bureaus to check your child’s credit profile.

Look out for phone scams and emails from fake companies claiming to offer credit monitoring services. They want for you to sign up for their services so they can steal your credit card information and social security number. Hang up the phone or delete unsolicited emails as they may contain a virus.

The BBB is trained to recognize and investigate instances of ID theft fraud and can advise you on these types of data breaches. Please contact the Mid Missouri BBB at manager@midmobbb.org or 573-886-8965 with any questions.