Data breach at KSU

Data breach at KSU

Posted on March 29, 2016

March 29, 2016

This correspondence is to inform you of a data breach that occurred on March 22, 2016, and involved the inadvertent disclosure of personally identifiable information of current and former Kentucky State University (“KSU”) employees. The data included KSU W-2s for 2015 and University identification information.

For your protection, KSU has already taken action to limit the effects of this breach and to identify the responsible party(ies). Federal and state authorities have been notified and are investigating this incident.

KSU has notified all three of the major credit reporting agencies to inform them of the breach. The information we will provide will describe the breach and alert the reporting agency to the possibility of fraud.

We are notifying you so that you may take action to limit the exposure of your personally identifiable information. As a first preventive step, we recommend you closely monitor all of your financial accounts and, if you see any unauthorized activity, promptly contact your financial institution and/or submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), Suite 1825, 55 West Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60603, by calling 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338), or going online to https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov. In addition, to learn more about steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft, you may contact the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, Office of Consumer Protection, 1024 Capital Center Drive, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, by calling 1-855-813-6508, or going online to http://ag.ky.gov/family/consumerprotection/idtheft/Pages/default.aspx

As a second step, you also may want to contact the three U.S. credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to obtain a free credit report from each by calling 1-877-322-8228 or by logging onto www.annualcreditreport.com.

Even if you do not find any suspicious activity on your initial credit reports, the FTC recommends that you check your credit reports periodically. A victim’s personal information may be shared among a group of thieves at different times or held temporarily for other reasons. Checking your credit reports periodically will help you spot problems and address them quickly.

To help protect your identity, we are offering a free one-year membership of Experian’s® ProtectMyID®  Alert. This product helps detect possible misuse of your personal information and provides you with identity protection support focused on identification and resolution of identity theft. To enroll, you must complete the following steps:

Activate ProtectMyID Now in Three Easy Steps

 

  1. ENSURE That You Enroll By: June 30, 2016 (Your code will not work after this date.)
  2. VISIT the ProtectMyID Web Site to enroll: www.protectmyid.com/redeem
  3. PROVIDE Your Activation Code: [code]

If you have questions or need an alternative to enrolling online, please call 1-877-371-7902 and provide engagement #:  PC100376.

Sincerely,

Raymond M. Burse

President

 

RMB/gr

 

ADDITIONAL DETAILS REGARDING YOUR {12-MONTH} PROTECTMYID MEMBERSHIP:

-A credit card is not required for enrollment.

-Once your ProtectMyID membership is activated, you will receive the following features:

Free copy of your Experian credit report

Surveillance Alerts for:

  • Daily Bureau Credit Monitoring: Alerts of key changes & suspicious activity found on your Experian, Equifax® and TransUnion® credit reports.

Identity Theft Resolution & ProtectMyID ExtendCARE: Toll-free access to US-based customer care and a dedicated Identity Theft Resolution agent who will walk you through the process of fraud resolution from start to finish for seamless service.  They will investigate each incident; help with contacting credit grantors to dispute charges and close accounts including credit, debit and medical insurance cards; assist with freezing credit files; contact government agencies.

  • It is recognized that identity theft can happen months and even years after a data breach. To offer added protection, you will receive ExtendCARETM, which provides you with the same high-level of Fraud Resolution support even after your ProtectMyID membership has expired.

$1 Million Identity Theft Insurance*: Immediately covers certain costs including, lost wages, private investigator fees, and unauthorized electronic fund transfers.

To protect yourself from the possibility of identity theft, we recommend you consider calling each credit reporting agency to place a security freeze on your credit files. By placing a freeze, someone who fraudulently acquires your personal identifying information will not be able to use that information to open new accounts or borrow money in your name. No fee will be charged for such a freeze, as long as you present a copy of the police report documenting the data breach to the entity assessing the charge. KSU will provide you with a copy of the police report as soon as it is available and will assist you in this process.

For more information about your credit report, contact any of the three national credit reporting agencies:

Equifax, Fraud Division, P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta GA 30374, 1-800-349-9960

Experian, P.O. Box 72, Allen, TX 75013, 1-888-397-3742

TransUnion, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, 1-888-909-8872

Please contact the Experian HelpLine at 1-877-371-7902 if you have any questions.

 

FOR YOUR INFORMATION: