NOTICE OF [SECURITY INCIDENT / DATA BREACH]
Dear Sample A. Sample:
Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) writes to inform you of an incident that impacts the privacy of some of your information. We are providing you with notice of the incident, steps we have taken in response, and resources available to help you better protect your information, should you feel it is appropriate to do so. You may be receiving this letter as a current or former student, employee, or prospective employee of PGCPS schools.
What Happened? As you may be aware, on August 14, 2023, we discovered a data security incident that impacted our computer systems and caused a temporary disruption to certain operations. We immediately responded and launched an investigation with outside forensic specialists to confirm the nature and scope of the incident and restore impacted computer systems to operability. The investigation discovered that in addition to usernames and passwords previously identified as impacted, that an unauthorized actor accessed our systems and likely viewed or acquired data containing certain information between August 3, 2023 and August 14, 2023. We then performed a comprehensive review of the impacted data to determine whether it contained sensitive information and to whom it relates. We recently concluded our review and determined on or around January 16, 2024, that information related to you was included in the potentially impacted data set. After determining the scope of information in the potentially impacted files, we undertook efforts to locate address information for the affected individuals, put resources in place to assist, and provide this direct notice.
What Information Was Involved? The information present in the files that may have been viewed or acquired as a result of this incident included your name and [individual specific data element(s)].
What We Are Doing. We treat our responsibility to safeguard the information entrusted to us as an utmost priority. As such, we responded immediately to this incident and have been working diligently to provide you with an accurate and complete notice of the incident. We have also implemented additional processes and procedures to help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
As an added precaution, we are providing you with the opportunity to enroll in ## months of complimentary access to credit monitoring and identity restoration services through Experian IdentityWorksSM. Please note that if you have already enrolled in the credit monitoring service provided, re-enrolling will require setting up a separate profile. Although we are covering the cost of these services, due to privacy restrictions, you will need to complete the activation process yourself using the enrollment instructions included within the enclosure to this letter.
What You Can Do. You can find out more about how to safeguard your information in the below, Steps You Can Take to Protect Personal Information. There, you will find additional information about the complimentary credit monitoring and identity restoration services we are offering and how to enroll. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements regularly and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors.
For More Information. We understand you may have questions about this incident. To ensure your questions are answered in a timely manner, please call our dedicated assistance line at 833-918-1251, Monday through Friday from 9AM to 11PM EST, and Saturday and Sunday from 11AM to 8PM EST, excluding U.S. holidays.
Sincerely,
Andrew Zuckerman
Chief Information and Technology Officer
https://www.pgcps.org/
To help protect your identity, we are offering complimentary access to Experian IdentityWorksSM for ## months.
If you believe there was fraudulent use of your information as a result of this incident and would like to discuss how you may be able to resolve those issues, please reach out to an Experian agent. If, after discussing your situation with an agent, it is determined that identity restoration support is needed then an Experian Identity Restoration agent is available to work with you to investigate and resolve each incident of fraud that occurred from the date of the incident (including, as appropriate, helping you with contacting credit grantors to dispute charges and close accounts; assisting you in placing a freeze on your credit file with the three major credit bureaus; and assisting you with contacting government agencies to help restore your identity to its proper condition).
Please note that Identity Restoration is available to you for ## months from the date of this letter and does not require any action on your part at this time. The Terms and Conditions for this offer are located at www.ExperianIDWorks.com/restoration. While identity restoration assistance is immediately available to you, we also encourage you to activate the fraud detection tools available through Experian IdentityWorks as a complimentary ##-month membership. This product provides you with superior identity detection and resolution of identity theft. To start monitoring your personal information, please follow the steps below:
If you have questions about the product, need assistance with Identity Restoration that arose as a result of this incident, or would like an alternative to enrolling in Experian IdentityWorks online, please contact Experian’s customer care team at 833-918-1251 by May 31, 2024. Be prepared to provide engagement number ENGAGE# as proof of eligibility for the Identity Restoration services by Experian.
A credit card is not required for enrollment in Experian IdentityWorks. You can contact Experian immediately regarding any fraud issues, and have access to the following features once you enroll in Experian IdentityWorks:
* Offline members will be eligible to call for additional reports quarterly after enrolling.
** The Identity Theft Insurance is underwritten and administered by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, an Assurant company. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions.
Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.
Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If consumers are the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should consumers wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.
As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in a consumer’s name without consent. However, consumers should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, consumers cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals may need to provide some or all of the following information:
Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:
|
Equifax |
Experian |
TransUnion |
|
1-888-298-0045 |
1-888-397-3742 |
1-800-916-8800 |
|
Equifax Fraud Alert, |
Experian Fraud Alert, |
TransUnion Fraud Alert, |
|
Equifax Credit Freeze, |
Experian Credit Freeze, |
TransUnion Credit Freeze, |
Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20580; www.identitytheft.gov 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the relevant state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.
For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001; 202-727-3400; and oag.dc.gov.
For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.
For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage consumers to review their rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.
For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.
For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; www.riag.ri.gov; and 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event. There are approximately 6 Rhode Island residents that may be impacted by this event.
