New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph A. Foster announces that his office has been regularly in contact with officials at Anthem related to the recent data breach and is coordinating with Attorneys General of other states as the investigation into this breach by federal and state law enforcement officials continues.
He encourages all current and former Anthem members in New Hampshire to immediately enroll in the credit protection services now available through Anthem. Those services include
:
• Free identity theft repair services to those who feel they have experienced fraud;
• Free identity protection services for the next two years, including, identity repair assistance, credit monitoring, child identity protection, identity theft insurance and identity theft monitoring/fraud detection, and phone alerts.
Anthem members are directed to www.AnthemFacts.com to sign up for these services. Spanish-speaking Anthem members can sign up at www.AnthemInforma.com. Those without internet access can call 877-263-7995.
Anthem has assured the public that it will not call members asking for credit card information or Social Security numbers over the phone. Foster warns residents of the dangers of phone or email scams and cautions consumers never to disclose personal information (date of birth; Social Security number; bank account information; credit/debit card information) in an email or phone call to unknown people, and to be especially cautious of unsolicited calls or emails.
For more information about recognizing scam email, visit: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0003-phishing.
The Attorney General also cautions against wiring any money to an unknown person, especially in response to an unsolicited call or email.
Finally, Foster recommends that all residents regularly check their bank and credit/debit card statements and alert those institutions if any unauthorized charges are found. Often, a scam artist will attempt a minimal charge to see if it gets challenged before attempting to steal larger amounts.
He notes that everyone is entitled to three free credit reports each year, one from each of the free credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These can be accessed through http://www.ftc.gov or www.annualcreditreport.com.
New Hampshire residents can call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-888- 468-4454 or file a written complaint at: http://doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints/index.htm.