

Ask HN: What to do when personal information stolen? - bjhoops1

I was just informed by my insurance company that they had a security breach, and my information was compromised.  This included social security, address, phone, and employer. Fortunately no credit card info.<p>What steps would you recommend I take to protect my identity?
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dangrossman
Generally when this happens, the company which had the breach will provide
free credit monitoring service to the affected customers. You should ask them
about that. If they're not doing it yet, you should. Chances are nothing will
happen, but if someone does use your social security number to sign up for a
credit card, loan or other service that impacts your credit rating, a credit
monitoring service would notify you of that.

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bjhoops1
Thanks - yes, the insurance company did offer a free year of this service. I
will be signing up for it.

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OafTobark
Contact the major credit bureaus and request they put you on fraud alert

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Mz
Take a deep breathe and do not panic. It probably was not _stolen_. The
federal government requires them to send you a letter if, say, your check went
to the wrong address because you have the same name as some other
policyholder. Also, if it was serious, they may be required to pay for credit
monitoring for a year. (So you can call and ask if they are providing that.)
If it wasn't that serious, you probably have nothing to worry about.

I used to process insurance claims for a living. I have written a few letters
informing customers of a privacy breach. The vast majority of the time, the
customer really had nothing to worry about. Most customers who get a check or
letter that wasn't intended for them are not career criminals waiting with
baited breathe to get your info. In fact, I have had to write privacy breach
letters when we sent the info to the guy's father by the same name or mother
whom they still lived with (or twin brother with a near identical name).
Federal law compels the insurance company to inform you. But unless you see
weird charges or something, you probably have nothing to be worried about.

