On Wednesday, February 4, Anthem disclosed that its data had been hacked. The breach exposed potentially 80 million of its customers’ and employees’ personal information, including names, birthdays, social security numbers, street addresses, email addresses, and employment information.
Compared to a credit card hack, this breach will be much more harmful to its victims. Unlike credit cards, Social Security numbers cannot be replaced and the hack exposed enough information for criminals to commit identity theft. While Anthem did say that they will provide credit monitoring and identity protection services free of charge, victims of the breach should always keep their eyes open for signs.
In addition to identity thieves, Anthem customers should also be on the lookout for phishers. Both current and former Anthem customers are reportedly being hit with phishing emails designed to look like they came from Anthem. In the email, the scammers are attempting to make amends by offering a credit monitoring service. This is especially tricky because that is something that Anthem is doing, however, they’ll be contacting their customers via USPS, not over phone or email.
For Anthem customers that may have been affected, there are a few things you can do to keep yourself safe. The first is to enroll in identity protection services. You should monitor all of your accounts and even place a security freeze on them. You can also ask each of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your account which will last 90 days. The first is to not click on any link or give any information in what appears to be an Anthem email or phone call.
