Important Notice Regarding an incident involving NationsBenefits
NationsBenefits Holding, LLC, and its affiliates and subsidiaries provides benefits administration services to Hometown Health. Hometown Health was notified of this incident on March 30, 2023. This notification explains the incident, the measures taken in response and the steps affected members can take.
What Happened?
NationsBenefits used software provided by a third-party vendor, Fortra, LLC (“Fortra”), to securely exchange files with Hometown Health. On or around January 30, 2023, Fortra experienced a data security incident in which a malicious actor(s) accessed or acquired the data of multiple organizations, including NationsBenefits. When NationsBenefits learned of this incident on February 7, 2023, they immediately took steps to secure their systems and launched an investigation, which was conducted by an experienced outside law firm and a leading cybersecurity firm. As part of the investigation, NationsBenefits analyzed the impacted data to determine whether any individual’s personal information was subject to unauthorized access or acquisition. On March 30, 2023, NationsBenefits confirmed that, unfortunately, some personal information was affected by the incident.
What Information Was Involved?
The personal information involved included member full name, gender, health plan subscriber identification number, address, phone number, date of birth, health plan group identification number, Medicare number, and practitioner name.
What is NationsBenefits Doing?
NationsBenefits has extensive measures in place to protect information entrusted to them. Upon discovering the incident, they immediately took steps to mitigate the risk to clients and personal information. NationsBenefits immediately stopped using Fortra’s software and worked with experienced legal counsel and a leading cybersecurity firm to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the incident. They also notified law enforcement authorities. To help prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, they have implemented and are continuing to implement additional procedures to further strengthen the security of IT system environments.
What Can You Do?
We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, and to monitor your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors.
For More Information.
We regret that this incident occurred and any concern it may cause. If you have additional questions or did not receive a letter but think you may have been affected, please call NationsBenefits dedicated, toll-free call center at 1-866-313-7993, Monday through Friday between 6:00am and 6:00p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, excluding major U.S. holidays.
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION
You should remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft by reviewing credit card account statements and monitoring your credit report for unauthorized activity.
Credit Reports
Under federal law, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies. You may obtain a free copy of your credit report by going to www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling (877) 322-8228. You also may complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form available from the FTC at www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/pdf-0093-annual-report-request-form.pdf, and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
Fraud Alert
You may place a fraud alert in your file by calling one of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies above. A fraud alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures, including contacting you before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts. For that reason, placing a fraud alert can protect you, but also may delay you when you seek to obtain credit.
Credit Freezes
You may have the right to put a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, on your credit file, so that no new credit can be opened in your name without the use of a PIN number that is issued to you when you initiate a freeze. A credit freeze is designed to prevent potential credit grantors from accessing your credit report without your consent. If you place a credit freeze, potential creditors and other third parties will not be able to get access to your credit report unless you temporarily lift the freeze. Therefore, using a credit freeze may delay your ability to obtain credit. In addition, you may incur fees to place, lift and/or remove a credit freeze. Credit freeze laws vary from state to state. The cost of placing, temporarily lifting, and removing a credit freeze also varies by state, generally $5 to $20 per action at each credit reporting company. Unlike a fraud alert, you must separately place a credit freeze on your credit file at each credit reporting company. Since the instructions for how to establish a credit freeze differ from state to state, please contact the three major credit reporting companies as indicated above.
You can obtain more information about fraud alerts and credit freezes by contacting the FTC or one of the national credit reporting agencies listed above.
You may contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and State Attorneys General Offices
If you believe you are the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your personal information has been misused, you should contact the FTC and/or your state’s attorney general office about for information on how to prevent or avoid identity theft. You can contact the FTC at: Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20508, www.ftc.gov, 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).
