Dorchester County, Notification of Data Security Incident
Notification of Data Security Incident
Post Date:08/02/2021 2:09 PM
Dorchester County Notifies Individuals of Data Security Incident
On February 23, 2021, Dorchester County discovered it was the target of an email phishing attack that resulted in data within certain employee email accounts being accessed by an unauthorized party between February 23-24, 2021. Immediately after the incident, Dorchester County took steps to secure the accounts, launched an investigation, and a forensic firm was engaged to assist. The investigation determined that there was unauthorized access to certain County email accounts, but was unable to determine which emails or attachments may have been viewed or accessed.
What Information Was Involved?
After the forensic investigation, the County determined that the emails and attachments involved included information collected and maintained by the County for a variety of reasons, including names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account numbers, credit card and debit card numbers, usernames and passwords, and medical information of county residents and others who have come in contact with the County in any number of different ways.
Monitoring Your Accounts
Dorchester County advises and kindly asks residents and businesses to remain vigilant by reviewing financial statements and credit reports for unauthorized activity. If you notice any unauthorized activity, you should notify the relevant financial institution or credit bureau that reported the unauthorized activity immediately. It is also advisable to review the billing statements you receive from your health insurer or healthcare provider. If you see charges for services that you did not receive, please contact the insurer or provider immediately.
Dorchester County regrets any inconvenience experience as a result of this incident. To further protect personal information, the County has implemented additional security measures to enhance the security of our email environment, including resetting employee passwords, reviewing email protocols, and providing additional security awareness training to employees. For some additional steps you can take to protect yourself, please see the information below.
If you have additional questions, please call the dedicated call center established for this matter at (855) 651-2688, Monday - Friday, between 9:00 AM and 6:30 PM (Eastern Time).
Additional Steps
Individuals may obtain a copy of their credit report, free of charge, once every 12-months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. To order your annual credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.
Individuals may also contact the three nationwide credit reporting companies below:
Equifax, PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374, www.equifax.com, 1-800-685-1111
Experian, PO Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013, www.experian.com, 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, www.transunion.com, 1-800-916-8800
Identity Theft
If you believe you are the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your personal information has been misused, you should contact the Federal Trade Commission and/or the South Carolina Attorney General’s office. You may also consider contacting your local police department and/or the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office to file a report as you may be asked to provide a copy of the police report to creditors to correct your records. Contact information for the Federal Trade Commission is below:
Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338), www.ftc.gov/idtheft
Fraud Alerts
There are two types of general fraud alerts that can be place on your credit report to advise creditors that you may be a victim of fraud—an initial alert and an extended alert. The initial alert would be placed on your credit report and remains on your credit report for one year. An extended alert is placed on your credit report if you have been a victim of identity theft. An extended fraud alert remains on your credit report for seven years.
To place a fraud alert on your credit reports, contact one of the nationwide credit reporting companies via the information provided above. A fraud alert is free and all three companies will place an alert on their versions of your report.
For those in the military who want to protect their credit while deployed, an Active Duty Military Fraud Alert lasts for one year and can be renewed for the length of your deployment. The credit reporting companies will also take you off their marketing lists for pre-screened credit card offers for two years, unless you ask them not to.
Credit Freeze
Individuals can also place a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, on their credit file, free of charge, which makes it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name.
A credit freeze must be placed with each individual credit reporting company. For information and instructions to place a security freeze, contact each of the credit reporting companies at the addresses below:
Experian Security Freeze, PO Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013, www.experian.com
TransUnion Security Freeze, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, www.transunion.com
Equifax Security Freeze, PO Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348, www.equifax.com
You will need to supply your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number and other personal information.
After receiving your freeze request, each credit reporting company will provide a unique PIN (personal identification number) or password. Keep the PIN or password in a safe place. You will need it if you choose to lift the freeze.
A freeze remains in place until you ask the credit reporting company to temporarily lift it or remove it altogether. If the request is made online or by phone, a credit reporting company must lift a freeze within one hour. If the request is made by mail, then the reporting company must lift the freeze no later than three business days after getting your request.
If you opt for a temporary lift of the freeze because you are applying for credit or a job, you can save time by lifting the freeze only at that particular credit bureau the company is using. Otherwise, you need to make the request with all three credit reporting companies.
Post Date:08/02/2021 2:09 PM
Dorchester County Notifies Individuals of Data Security Incident
On February 23, 2021, Dorchester County discovered it was the target of an email phishing attack that resulted in data within certain employee email accounts being accessed by an unauthorized party between February 23-24, 2021. Immediately after the incident, Dorchester County took steps to secure the accounts, launched an investigation, and a forensic firm was engaged to assist. The investigation determined that there was unauthorized access to certain County email accounts, but was unable to determine which emails or attachments may have been viewed or accessed.
What Information Was Involved?
After the forensic investigation, the County determined that the emails and attachments involved included information collected and maintained by the County for a variety of reasons, including names, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account numbers, credit card and debit card numbers, usernames and passwords, and medical information of county residents and others who have come in contact with the County in any number of different ways.
Monitoring Your Accounts
Dorchester County advises and kindly asks residents and businesses to remain vigilant by reviewing financial statements and credit reports for unauthorized activity. If you notice any unauthorized activity, you should notify the relevant financial institution or credit bureau that reported the unauthorized activity immediately. It is also advisable to review the billing statements you receive from your health insurer or healthcare provider. If you see charges for services that you did not receive, please contact the insurer or provider immediately.
Dorchester County regrets any inconvenience experience as a result of this incident. To further protect personal information, the County has implemented additional security measures to enhance the security of our email environment, including resetting employee passwords, reviewing email protocols, and providing additional security awareness training to employees. For some additional steps you can take to protect yourself, please see the information below.
If you have additional questions, please call the dedicated call center established for this matter at (855) 651-2688, Monday - Friday, between 9:00 AM and 6:30 PM (Eastern Time).
Additional Steps
Individuals may obtain a copy of their credit report, free of charge, once every 12-months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. To order your annual credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.
Individuals may also contact the three nationwide credit reporting companies below:
Equifax, PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374, www.equifax.com, 1-800-685-1111
Experian, PO Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013, www.experian.com, 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, www.transunion.com, 1-800-916-8800
Identity Theft
If you believe you are the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your personal information has been misused, you should contact the Federal Trade Commission and/or the South Carolina Attorney General’s office. You may also consider contacting your local police department and/or the Dorchester County Sheriff's Office to file a report as you may be asked to provide a copy of the police report to creditors to correct your records. Contact information for the Federal Trade Commission is below:
Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338), www.ftc.gov/idtheft
Fraud Alerts
There are two types of general fraud alerts that can be place on your credit report to advise creditors that you may be a victim of fraud—an initial alert and an extended alert. The initial alert would be placed on your credit report and remains on your credit report for one year. An extended alert is placed on your credit report if you have been a victim of identity theft. An extended fraud alert remains on your credit report for seven years.
To place a fraud alert on your credit reports, contact one of the nationwide credit reporting companies via the information provided above. A fraud alert is free and all three companies will place an alert on their versions of your report.
For those in the military who want to protect their credit while deployed, an Active Duty Military Fraud Alert lasts for one year and can be renewed for the length of your deployment. The credit reporting companies will also take you off their marketing lists for pre-screened credit card offers for two years, unless you ask them not to.
Credit Freeze
Individuals can also place a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, on their credit file, free of charge, which makes it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name.
A credit freeze must be placed with each individual credit reporting company. For information and instructions to place a security freeze, contact each of the credit reporting companies at the addresses below:
Experian Security Freeze, PO Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013, www.experian.com
TransUnion Security Freeze, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, www.transunion.com
Equifax Security Freeze, PO Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348, www.equifax.com
You will need to supply your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number and other personal information.
After receiving your freeze request, each credit reporting company will provide a unique PIN (personal identification number) or password. Keep the PIN or password in a safe place. You will need it if you choose to lift the freeze.
A freeze remains in place until you ask the credit reporting company to temporarily lift it or remove it altogether. If the request is made online or by phone, a credit reporting company must lift a freeze within one hour. If the request is made by mail, then the reporting company must lift the freeze no later than three business days after getting your request.
If you opt for a temporary lift of the freeze because you are applying for credit or a job, you can save time by lifting the freeze only at that particular credit bureau the company is using. Otherwise, you need to make the request with all three credit reporting companies.
