BBB says hospital data breach victims will be notified by mail

ClarksvilleNow.com Reporting
news@clarksvillenow.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Better Business Bureaus (BBB) from across the country have received numerous calls from recipients of a letter from Kroll, an identity theft protection company, offering ID theft protection services in response to Community Health System’s discovery of a data breach.

Community Health Systems is the parent company of Gateway Medical Center, among several other hospitals in the nation. The company experienced a recent data breach that affected 4.5 million patients. Read the original story here.

Community Health Systems Professional Services Corporation (CHSPSC) says individuals whose information was taken will be mailed a letter informing them about the data breach and how to enroll in free identity theft protection and credit monitoring services. The data taken includes patients’ names, addresses, birthdates, social security numbers, and, in some cases, telephone numbers, and the names of employers or guarantors.

“To the best of CHSPSC’s knowledge, no credit card information was taken and no medical or clinical information was taken. CHSPSC recommends that you remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft by reviewing your credit report and accounts for unauthorized activity,” the company said in a release.

Anyone with questions or concerns may contact 1-855-205-6951 toll-free. For information on preventing identity theft or to report suspicious activity, contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-438-4338 or get free information at www.ftc.gov. The website to sign up online is kroll.idMonitoringService.com

For a full BBB Business Review on Community Health Systems and more information regarding the data breach, click here.

BBB has since received calls from consumers alleging they received a phone call from an unknown person offering to assist with ID theft protection in relation to this data breach; however, CHS informed BBB that neither they nor Kroll are phoning consumers. BBB cautions consumers to never give personal information to unknown callers.