Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is urging current and former Hope College students who believe they were impacted by the data breach announced earlier this month to take appropriate steps to protect their information from identity theft.
On December 15, Hope College reported a massive data breach to the Montana Attorney General’s office, after they discovered an unauthorized party has gained access to their confidential files. In addition to full names, dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, driver’s license, and student identification numbers may have been compromised.
“Anyone who received notice from Hope College related to this breach should be taking steps to combat potential identify theft,” Nessel said. “While bad actors may have access to your information as a result of this breach, there are ways to protect yourself if your information was compromised.”
Nessel is reissuing her Data Breaches: What To Do Next Consumer Alert (https://bit.ly/3W wkdhU) with more information related to protecting personal information in response to the latest development.
She urges anyone who believes they were impacted by the Hope College breach to take the following steps to protect themselves:
• Monitor your credit. Credit monitoring services track your credit report and alert you whenever a change is made, such as a new account or a large purchase. Most services will notify you within 24 hours of any change to your credit report.
• Consider placing a free credit freeze on your credit report. Identity thieves will not be able to open a new credit account in your name while the freeze is in place. You can place a credit freeze by contacting each of the three major credit bureaus:
—Equifax | online or by calling 888-766-0008
—Experian | online or by calling 888-397-3742
—TransUnion | online or by calling 800-680-7289
• Place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert tells lenders and creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before issuing credit. You can place a fraud alert by contacting any one of the three major credit bureaus.
• Additional Resources. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website (www. identitytheft.gov/#/) for assistance on how to report it and recover from it—or contact the Attorney General’s Office for help.
• Hope College is offering 12-months of free credit monitoring service to those affected. A call center has been set up to answer any questions and can be reached at 833-540-0798.
Residents can learn more about the state’s identity theft resources on the Department of Attorney General website (www. michigan.gov/ag/initiatives/Michigan-Identity-Theft-Support).
Connection to consumer protection is just a click or phone call away.?Consumer complaints can be filed online at the Attorney General’s website (https://secure.ag.state.mi.us/complaints/consumer.aspx), or anyone with questions may call 877-765-8388.
