HARTFORD, Conn. — Anyone affected by Change Healthcare’s February data breach is advised to take advantage of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection measures, said Connecticut’s Attorney General William Tong Tuesday.
A cyberattack interrupted a unit of UnitedHealth’s work for thousands of doctors’ offices, hospitals and pharmacies in February, said the Office of the Attorney General of Connecticut. An unknown number of Americans’ sensitive personal and health data was leaked onto the dark web.
Change Healthcare hasn’t notified individuals yet whose information has been leaked. They said the safest course of action is to assume everyone’s information has been released.
Connecticut residents who believe they may have been impacted can get free credit monitoring and identity theft protections for two years through Change Healthcare, according to the press release.
Before someone decides to use its services, the release said that "the dedicated website and call center will not be able to provide individuals details about whether their data was impacted but can guide them through getting set up for the free credit monitoring and identity theft protections.”
Change Healthcare said the data breach could impact almost one-third of all Americans. When a data breach reaches Connecticut residents, it will usually send an individual message to inform them. This time, Change Healthcare hasn’t provided personal notices.
The press release did not include when consumers could expect a notice by.
The office of the Attorney General provided warning signs and information about cyberattacks and freezing credit resources below:
Change Healthcare Cyberattack Resources
For information visit Change Healthcare Consumer support page - UnitedHealth Group.
To enroll in credit monitoring through IDX use the link at Change Healthcare Consumer support page - UnitedHealth Group or call 1-888-846-4705.
For additional support from Change Healthcare call 1-866-262-5342.
Warning Signs
Consumers should be aware of potential warning signs that someone is using their medical information. The signs include:
A bill from their doctor for services they did not receive;
Errors in their Explanation of Benefits statement like services they never received or prescription medications they do not take;
A call from a debt collector about a medical debt they do not owe;
Medical debt collection notices on their credit report that they do not recognize;
A notice from their health insurance company indicating they have reached their benefit limit; or
They are denied insurance coverage because their medical records show a pre-existing condition they do not have.
Freezing Credit
If consumers are concerned that their data may have been impacted but prefer not to use the free resources provided by Change Healthcare, they can also consider freezing their credit.
A credit freeze prevents creditors—such as banks or lenders—from accessing individual’s credit reports. This will stop identity thieves from taking out new loans or credit cards in consumer’s names because creditors will not approve their loans or credit requests if they cannot first access their credit reports. By law, a credit bureau must allow you to place, temporarily lift, or remove a credit freeze for free.
When consumers freeze their credit with each bureau, the bureaus will send them a personal identification number. The consumers can then use that PIN to unfreeze their credit if they want to apply for a loan or credit card. Consumers can also use the PIN to freeze their credit again after they have applied for loans or a new credit card.
Individuals will have to freeze their credit with each bureau: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
+1 (888) 766-0008
Experian | https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html
+1 (888) 397-3742
TransUnion | https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
+1 (800) 680-7289
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Stream Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
