Notice to Individuals Regarding Privacy Incident Involving
Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church
At Illinois Great Rivers Conference of the United Methodist Church (“IGRC”), we recognize the importance of securing and protecting the personal information we maintain. IGRC is providing notice of a recent security incident that may have involved certain individuals’ personal information.
We recently learned of suspicious activity originating from an IGRC employee’s email account. As soon as we became aware of the activity, we immediately took measures to secure the email account, launched an internal investigation, and a cybersecurity firm was engaged to assist in a full forensic analysis of this incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized person accessed the IGRC employee’s email account between September 3 and October 21, 2019.
The investigation did not determine whether any specific emails or attachments containing personal information were viewed by the unauthorized person; however, we were not able to rule out that possibility. We searched the full contents of the account to identify documents containing personal information. On December 19, 2019, we determined that the account contained some individuals’ personal information, including dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account or payment card information, and health insurance and medical information.
Although we could not confirm that the information was viewed, and have no indication that the information has been misused, IGRC began notifying the potentially involved individuals out of an abundance of caution on January 31, 2020, and established a dedicated call center to answer any questions. If you believe your information may be involved and you did not receive a letter, please call 1-833-800-0020, Monday-Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Central Time.
IGRC encourages individuals to remain vigilant by reviewing their account statements for any unauthorized activity. Individuals should immediately report any unauthorized charges to their financial institution.
IGRC takes the security of the personal information we maintain very seriously. To further protect personal information, we are enhancing our existing security measures and re-educating staff for awareness on these types of incidents.
Additional Steps You Can Take
We remind you it is always advisable to be vigilant for incidents of fraud or identity theft by reviewing your account statements and free credit reports for any unauthorized activity. You may obtain a copy of your credit report, free of charge, once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies. To order your annual free credit report, please visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll free at 1-877-322-8228. Contact information for the three nationwide credit reporting companies is as follows:
Experian, PO Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013, www.experian.com, 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, www.transunion.com, 1-800-916-8800
Equifax, PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374, www.equifax.com, 1-800-685-1111
If you believe you are the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your personal information has been misused, you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission and/or the Attorney General’s office in your state. You can obtain information from these sources about steps an individual can take to avoid identity theft as well as information about fraud alerts and security freezes. You should also contact your local law enforcement authorities and file a police report. Obtain a copy of the police report in case you are asked to provide copies to creditors to correct your records. Contact information for the Federal Trade Commission is as follows:
Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338), www.ftc.gov/idtheft
If you are a resident of Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, or Rhode Island you may contact and obtain information from your state attorney general at:
Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106, 860-808-5318, www.ct.gov/ag
Maryland Attorney General’s Office, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202, 888-743-0023 / (410) 576-6300 (for calls originating outside Maryland), www.oag.state.md.us. Maryland residents may also contact IGRC at P.O. Box 19207, Springfield, IL 62794-9207, 217-529-2132
Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108, 1-617-727-8400, www.mass.gov/ago/contact-us.html
New York Attorney General’s Office, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341, 1-800-771-7755, www.ag.ny.gov; New York Department of State, One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12231-0001, (518) 474-8583, www.dos.ny.gov; New York State Police, 1220 Washington Avenue, Building 22, Albany, NY 12226-2252, (212) 459-7800, troopers.ny.gov
North Carolina Attorney General’s Office, 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699, 919-716-6400 / 1-877-566-7226, www.ncdoj.gov
Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903, 1-401-274-4400, www.riag.ri.gov
If you are a resident of Massachusetts or Rhode Island, note that pursuant to Massachusetts or Rhode Island law, you have the right to file and obtain a copy of a police report. You also have the right to request a security freeze.
If you are a resident of West Virginia, you have the right to ask that nationwide consumer reporting agencies place "fraud alerts" in your file to let potential creditors and others know that you may be a victim of identity theft, as described below. You also have a right to place a security freeze on your credit report, as described below.
Fraud Alerts: There are two types of fraud alerts you can place on your credit report to put your creditors on notice that you may be a victim of fraud—an initial alert and an extended alert. You may ask that an initial fraud alert be placed on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. An initial fraud alert stays on your credit report for one (1) year. You may have an extended alert placed on your credit report if you have already been a victim of identity theft with the appropriate documentary proof. An extended fraud alert stays on your credit report for seven years. You can place a fraud alert on your credit report by contacting any of the three national credit reporting agencies.
Credit Freezes: You have the right to put a credit freeze, also known as a security freeze, on your credit file, free of charge, so that no new credit can be opened in your name without the use of a PIN that is issued to you when you initiate a freeze. A security freeze is designed to prevent potential credit grantors from accessing your credit report without your consent. If you place a security 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 security freeze may delay your ability to obtain credit.
There is no fee to place or lift a security freeze. Unlike a fraud alert, you must separately place a security freeze on your credit file at each credit reporting company. For information and instructions to place a security freeze, contact each of the credit reporting agencies at the addresses below:
To request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:
The credit reporting agencies have one business day after receiving your request by toll-free telephone or secure electronic means, or three business days after receiving your request by mail, to place a security freeze on your credit report. The credit bureaus must also send written confirmation to you within five business days and provide you with a unique personal identification number (“PIN”) or password or both that can be used by you to authorize the removal or lifting of the security freeze.
To lift the security freeze in order to allow a specific entity or individual access to your credit report, or to lift a security freeze for a specified period of time, you must submit a request through a toll-free telephone number, a secure electronic means maintained by a credit reporting agency, or by sending a written request via regular, certified, or overnight mail to the credit reporting agencies and include proper identification (name, address, and Social Security number) and the PIN or password provided to you when you placed the security freeze as well as the identity of those entities or individuals you would like to receive your credit report or the specific period of time you want the credit report available. The credit reporting agencies have one hour after receiving your request by toll-free telephone or secure electronic means, or three business days after receiving your request by mail, to lift the security freeze for those identified entities or for the specified period of time.
To remove the security freeze, you must submit a request through a toll-free telephone number, a secure electronic means maintained by a credit reporting agency, or by sending a written request via regular, certified, or overnight mail to each of the three credit bureaus and include proper identification (name, address, and Social Security number) and the PIN number or password provided to you when you placed the security freeze. The credit bureaus have one hour after receiving your request by toll-free telephone or secure electronic means, or three business days after receiving your request by mail, to remove the security freeze.
If your health insurance or medical information was involved, it is also advisable to review the billing statements you receive from your health insurer or healthcare provider. If you see charges for services you did not receive, please contact the insurer or provider immediately.
If your username and password to an online account was involved, it is also advisable to change your password to the account as well as any other accounts that use the same or a similar password.
Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act: The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records). Here is a summary of your major rights under FCRA. For more information, including information about additional rights, go to www.consumerfinance.gov/learnmore or write to: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street N.W., Washington, DC 20552.