State regulators offered the following advice to consumers potentially affected by the Anthem data breach:
— State law requires notification to affected consumers, who should receive a letter from Anthem within two weeks. The letter will offer free credit monitoring services for a year, with instructions on how to activate those services.
— Consumers also can check their own credit reports without charge once each year at the website www.AnnualCreditReport.com. If consumers notice any evidence that their identity has been stolen, they can obtain additional reports at no charge.
— Consumers can place a fraud alert on their credit reports, or for a small fee “freeze” access to their reports, blocking the opening of any new accounts. If a consumer experiences identity theft, the credit reporting agencies must freeze and unfreeze their accounts at no charge.
— File your taxes. The information reportedly involved in the Anthem breach could assist someone in filing a false tax return and submitting a change of address for the IRS to use in sending a refund, resulting in at least a temporary loss of the refund while the matter is sorted out. If consumers who may be affected by the data breach file promptly, that risk is reduced.
— Consumers are not responsible for paying charges incurred by an identity thief, including on their credit or debit card. Upon first noticing evidence of unauthorized charges or withdrawals, consumers should immediately call, then write, the financial institution that issued their card.
— State officials recommend that if a consumer discovers evidence of identity theft, the consumer file a police report with their local law enforcement agency and retain a copy. Maine law requires that a law enforcement agency near a consumer’s home or workplace accept information about a crime of identity theft and produce a report. The report is helpful if a consumer must later demonstrate that proper steps have been taken to establish the crime.
— Consumers should be vigilant in order to notice any evidence of identity theft or unauthorized charges. This includes careful reviews of online or paper credit card and bank statements, unexplained statements of accounts not opened by the consumer, and collection calls or letters on debts not owed by the consumer.
