Covenant Care California, LLC Provides Notice of Data Event
Aliso Viejo, CA - January 12, 2024. Covenant Care California, LLC ("Covenant Care") is providing notice of a data event, including steps individuals may take to help protect their information, should they feel it is appropriate to do so.
Covenant Care owns and operates skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies throughout California and Nevada. Covenant Care also previously provided rehabilitation services through a company called AFFIRMA, and currently provides home healthcare services under the names Focus Health, Elevate Home Health, Choice Home Health Care, and San Diego Home Health. Covenant Care has certain personal information related to current patients, former patients, prospective patient referrals, and responsible parties of patients who received services from a facility or agency operated by Covenant Care.
What Happened? On or about November 14, 2023, Covenant Care identified suspicious activity related to certain systems within its computer network. In response, Covenant Care promptly took steps to secure its systems and began an investigation into the activity. Although the investigation is ongoing, Covenant Care recently determined that an unauthorized party copied certain files from its systems as part of the incident between November 12 and November 14, 2023. Covenant Care is in the process of conducting a detailed review to determine what information was present in the relevant files and to whom the information relates and will be issuing relevant notification based on the results of that review.
What Information Was Involved? While the review is ongoing, the information present in the relevant files may include: name, date of birth, medical information and/or health insurance information, including diagnosis or treatment information and/or claims and billing information. For some individuals, the information may also include Social Security number, financial account or credit/debit card numbers, driver's license or state/federal identification number, and/or other personal information.
What Covenant Care Is Doing. Information security is one of Covenant Care's highest priorities, and it has strict security measures in place to protect information. Covenant Care is currently reviewing technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to identify and implement any potential enhancements to its security measures, including provisioning additional monitoring tools throughout its environment. Further, general privacy and security policies and procedures are being reviewed for potential enhancements.
Covenant Care is also notifying potentially affected individuals as information becomes available and providing them with information and resources to help protect their information, including providing access to complimentary credit monitoring and identify restoration services, and encouraging these individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing account statements and explanation of benefits and monitoring free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors.
What Individuals Can Do. 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:
1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone
bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state
driver's license or ID card, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to
a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim
of identity theft.
Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:
Equifax
Experian
TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/
https://www.experian.com/help/
https://www.transunion.com/credit-help
1-888-298-0045
1-888-397-3742
1-800-916-8800
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester,
TX 75013 PA 19016
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn,
TX 75013 PA 19094
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.
For More Information. Covenant Care understands individuals may have questions about this incident. It has established a dedicated assistance line at (866) 983-8909 (toll-free), which is available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Time, excluding major U.S. holidays. Covenant Care takes this incident very seriously and has been and will continue to take steps to respond.
/PRNewswire -- Jan. 12, 2024/
SOURCE Covenant Care California, LLC
