Considering the fact that 80 million is a pretty large number, I figured there should be at least one other person here that will be affected by the Anthem security breach.
For those that do not know, Anthem (a health insurance provider) had it's server's were hacked and 80 million people's personal information was stolen. Information included Name, Home Address, Employment, Income, Phone #, E-Mail, Social Security...
So if you are covered by Anthem or have been covered in the past, you might want to look into the issue. It is even more important if you provide Anthem BlueCross BlueShield insurance as a benefit to your employees.
Personally I signed up for a credit/identity theft protection service and called the credit bureaus to put a free fraud alert on my credit report. The other alternative was to pay to have my credit report frozen.
There are already E-Mail scams floating around purporting to be Anthem notifying it's customers of the breach and asking them to click on a link, which leads to nothing good.
In reality all notifications will come in the mail (which is also suspect since your address was part of the info stolen).
Pisses me off that some POS is out there making money off of selling people's kids social security numbers.
And yet, for some strange reason, "we" are unable to see this coming. I am quite sure we do not hear of all the hacking which takes place on a daily basis but of just a few major hacks of major corporations.
Of course large databases with personal info is a huge attraction to thieves. And companies do not care to protect the consumer. That might actually cost them money.
On TV this evening, there was a story about hacking the new cars with all the wireless options and such. But yet, "we" are unable to see this coming or simply don't care. And the car companies don't care to make the electronics actually secure......:pissed:
Count me in as a former Anthem customer. I already contacted the credit reporting agencies and added a fraud alert to my and my wife's accounts. What monitoring service do you sign up for? I might sign up to.
Had this happen with Horizon Blue Cross in NJ about a year and a half ago. Someone "stole' the unsecured laptop with a large portion of the customer database on it.
Horizon gave us a free year of "Protect My ID". I have since re-subscribed to that service.
No excuse for this to happen other than they simply do no follow any real security protocol.
Anthem BlueCross BlueShield Breach - alert vs. freeze
I worked closely with all 3 US bureaus and Equifax Canada many years ago.
There is a big difference between a fraud alert and a credit freeze.
A fraud alert only shows up when someone (a potential lender) is evaluating your data. The alert is just a heads up. A lender may simply ask you about it and/or provide some additional identification that you are really who you claim to be. Or, they may just flatly deny you "based on information we received from xxxxx reporting agency" and the ball is back in your court.
A full credit freeze stops the inquiry from ever happening at all - unless you "thaw" it first. If you are out there applying for anything, you should thaw it first. Go apply, and re-freeze it. They even have apps for doing that on the spot.
A freeze may also cut down on the number of unsolicited, pre-approved offers you get. Where do you think these card companies and other vermin get these names and addresses after all.
In some states credit freezes will cost you nothing - by law. Some, like here in GA, allow for a $3 per bureau charge.
Freeze are new since I was in that business almost 20 years ago so I can't speak to how long they last.
By the way, NEVER use some crap like freecreditreport.com
By federal law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1972, you are allowed a FREE copy of your report once every year or if you have been denied credit based on information a bureau reports about you. I think you have to ask for it within 30 days of denial however.
E.
I have heard several people mention paying for a credit freeze. There are many states (including mine) that require free credit freezes. My credit has been frozen for years and it is a simple process to unfreeze it for a short period of time when I make a major purchase and that is free too. Other states require it to be free for a year when their is an issue such as fraud. Even if it wasnt free, I would still do it. It is the best way to protect your credit as no new accounts can be opened without your knowledge.
Anthem BlueCross BlueShield Breach - alert vs. freeze
> By the way, NEVER use some crap like freecreditreport.com
I agree, but don't confuse those sites with annualcreditreport.com, which was set up to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Credit reporting agencies are required to provide consumers with a no-cost credit report upon request once per year, and annualcreditreport.com is the way that the Big 3 comply with that requirement.
I am trying out LifeLock. So far so good. The scary thing is the amount of critical information you have to give them to monitor your accounts. I will be sending the bill to Anthem when they send me my notification letter.
Your response is making me consider a freeze. I have not used credit for probably 10 years, so it would probably be something for me to consider.
Get some kind of credit protection program. It's not that expensive, and this kind of stuff will keep happening.
> Get some kind of credit protection program. It's not that expensive, and this kind of stuff will keep happening.
I'm trying out LifeLock. Anthem will be responsible for providing that for me.
I'm curious, when you do the credit freeze, do you have to do it for all three of the credit monitoring companies?
> I'm curious, when you do the credit freeze, do you have to do it for all three of
the credit monitoring companies?
Credit monitors have nothing to do the bureaus. They will only tell when someone looks at your data or something else effects your data other than regular updates.
IMHO (but somewhat experienced), credit monitors only are able to tell you about things AFTER they have already happened. So what's the point.
If a new account gets opened up, they tell you. Good. But at that point it's already happened.
Credit freezes you take up with the bureaus themselves.
> Credit freezes you take up with the bureaus themselves.
That's what I meant, sorry.
I guess you need to pay for each of the three to freeze and un-freeze your credit report each time you needed to establish new credit or do something that triggers a credit check (apply for a job, rent a house, ect.)?
