Boys Town National Research Hospital Provides Notice Of Data Breach

BOYS TOWN, Neb., July 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Boys Town National Research Hospital ("Boys Town") is providing notice to current and former patients and employees of a recent incident involving personal information. To date, Boys Town has not received any reports that personal information has been misused as a result of this incident.

What Happened? On May 23, 2018, Boys Town became aware of unusual activity relating to an employee email account. Boys Town quickly launched an investigation to determine what may have happened and what information may have been affected, working together with computer forensics experts.  The investigation determined that an unknown individual had access to the email account on May 23, 2018.  Boys Town reviewed the email account to identify what personal information was stored within the email account. On or around July 3, 2018, Boys Town confirmed the personal information that may have been accessible as a result of the incident and the identities of the individuals relating to this personal information.

What Information Was Involved? The investigation in this matter confirmed that the following types of personal information related to Boys Town patients and employees may have been accessible as a result of the incident: name, date of birth, Social Security number, diagnosis or treatment information, Medicare or Medicaid identification number, medical record number, billing/claims information, health insurance information, disability code, birth or marriage certificate information, Employer Identification Number, driver's license number, passport information, banking or financial account number, and username and password. To date, Boys Town has not received any reports of the misuse of this information.

What is Boys Town Doing?  Boys Town takes this incident and the security of personal information seriously.  Upon learning of this incident, Boys Town moved quickly to confirm whether personal information may have been affected by this incident, to identify the individuals related to this personal information, to put in place resources to assist them, and to provide them with notice of this incident.  Boys Town is reviewing its existing policies and procedures, and implementing additional safeguards to protect information stored in its systems. Boys Town reported this incident to law enforcement and is notifying state regulators, as required.  Boys Town is also notifying potentially affected individuals and will be offering these individuals access to 12 months of free identity protection services.  

What You Can Do?  Boys Town encourages potentially impacted individuals to review their accounts, explanations of benefits, and credit reports for suspicious activity, and to report any suspicious activity to the affiliated institutions immediately.  Boys Town is providing potentially impacted individuals with contact information for the three major credit reporting agencies, as well as providing advice on how to obtain free credit reports and how to place fraud alerts and security freezes on their credit files.

For More Information. Boys Town has set up a call center to answer questions from those who might be impacted by this incident. The call center can be reached at 1-855-686-9425 (toll free), Monday through Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CT. If you do not receive a letter in the coming weeks, but want to confirm whether you are affected, please contact the call center at the number listed above. Additional information can also be found at Boys Town's website, www.boystownhospital.org. Potentially affected individuals may also consider the information and resources outlined below.

Town encourages potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing their accounts, explanations of benefits, and credit reports for suspicious activity, and to report any suspicious activity to the affiliated institutions immediately. 

Under U.S. law, individuals with credit reports are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Individuals may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of their credit report. The credit reporting agencies may be contacted as follows:

Potentially impacted individuals may also find information regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes and the steps they may take to protect their information by contacting the credit agencies, and the Federal Trade Commission.  The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them.  Instances of known or suspected identity theft should be promptly reported to law enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission, and their state Attorney General. Individuals have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud.  Please note that in order to file a crime report or incident report with law enforcement for identity theft, they will likely need to provide some kind of proof that they have been a victim. This notice has not been delayed as the result of a law enforcement investigation.  Credit file security freeze fees vary based on where you live, but commonly range from $0 to $15 each ($5 each in Massachusetts).     

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General can be contacted by mail at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; toll-free at 1-877-566-7226; by phone at 1-919-716-6400; and online at www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General can be reached at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-888-743-0023; and www.oag.state.md.us.  Boys Town is located at 14100 Crawford Street, Boys Town, NE 68010. For New Mexico residents, you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information.  Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violator. You 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 you to review your 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 Rhode Island residents, the Attorney General can be contacted by mail at 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; by phone at (401) 274-4400; and online at www.riag.ri.gov. A total of four (4) Rhode Island residents were impacted by this incident.

SOURCE Boys Town National Research Hospital