Patient information breached.
An Upstate hospital--warning potentially thousands of patients--their medical and personal information could be in the hands of a thief.
Spartanburg Regional Hospital has taken steps to protect their patients after they say someone swiped a company laptop from an employee's car this past March.
We're only hearing about it now.
It contained patient social security numbers--addresses and more.
It's important to note, the hospital says they have no reason to believe that any information has been misused. They sent out a notice however, to be proactive and have hired Kroll, Inc. to provide those affected with free credit monitoring for a year.
Many of our viewers and readers have emailed and called to ask if these warning letters were a scam or legitimate. They are legitimate.
Should you become a victim of a thief's identity theft--the Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office has this advice on their website:
1) Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (1-877-IDTHEFT) for assistance from trained counselors in resolving credit related problems. The FTC acts as the nation's clearinghouse for information related to identity theft crimes.
2) Cancel each credit card and request new cards with new account numbers.
3) Contact the fraud departments of the three major credit reporting agencies: [Equifax (1-800-525-6285), Experian (1-888-397-3742), TransUnion (1-800-680-7289)]. Ask each company to put a fraud alert on the account and add a victim's statement requesting creditors to contact the victim before opening new accounts in his or her name. Also request copies of your credit report.
4) If bank accounts are involved, report the loss to each financial institution, cancel existing accounts and open new ones with new account numbers.
5) If a driver's license is involved, contact the state motor vehicle department.
6) Check with the Social Security Administration to determine the accuracy integrity of your account.
7) Change the locks on your house and cars if there is any indication that these have been copied or otherwise compromised.
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