My personal follow up about the South Carolina Department of Revenue cyber-security breach, initially reported in October 2012. I just received this:
Dear South Carolina Taxpayer:...and it continues: blah blah blah. Vogue model and sometime SC Governor Nikki Haley, screw-up in charge, even repeated all this nonsense in her State of the State address... as if Experian is going to save us all, just like Spiderman to the rescue. (One question: was HER personal information compromised?)
As you know, tax data at the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) was compromised due to a recent security breach. Immediately upon discovering the data breach, new technology and policy protections were implemented at SCDOR to prevent further information exposure. We are writing you today to confirm that your tax information was compromised. The tax information that was compromised includes social security numbers of you and your dependents, if you claimed dependents on a tax return, and your bank account number only if you provided a bank account number on your electronic return(s). If your bank account number was compromised, you should regularly review your monthly bank account statement and your account online, and contact your bank immediately if you see any unexplained charges.
In addition to the Experian® ProtectMyID® services in which you have enrolled, we want to remind you that SCDOR is providing protection services for your minor dependents under Experian's Family Secure® program. You should receive a notification from Experian about how to enroll in Family Secure within a few days of enrolling in ProtectMyID. The enrollment period for Family Secure ends May 31, 2013. More valuable information on protecting yourself and your family is available from the Department of Consumer Affairs by visiting www.consumer.sc.gov and clicking the "Identity Theft Resources" button or calling 1-800-922-1594.
Two additional protections that will alert you to the opening of new credit files or prevent them from being opened are fraud alerts and security freezes:
You can place a fraud alert at one of the three major credit bureaus by phone and also via Experian's website. A fraud alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures, including contacting you, before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts. For that reason, placing a fraud alert can protect you, but also may delay you when you seek to obtain credit. The contact information for all three bureaus is as follows:
We need to get rid of her for this. Many State-House watchers believe that her cheapskate, cost-cutting ineptitude is the reason for the breach.
Just thought I'd let you all know: me too. (sigh)
