Id Theft Risk for 465,000 Georgians to Act Now

This is a special "alert" for the 465,000 Georgia
State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) members and their
dependents to the potential identity theft risk resulting
from a security breach of 6 months ago.

The SHBP provides health care coverage for state
employees, teachers, school system personnel and their
retirees.

This past Friday, a spokesman for the Georgia Technology
Authority(GTA) disclosed the agency will be notifying
all of the effected consumers in a personal letter by
the end of the November of a computer security breach
which was first uncovered in April, 2005.

The personal information had been accessed by an GTA
employee who was a computer programmer. He has been
subsequently fired and arrested for computer
trespassing and theft.

The information accessed included data on file with
the GTA from the year 2002:

• Names
  
• Social Security Numbers (SSN)
  
• Dates of Birth
  
• Address
  
• Gender
  
• Names & SSN of Covered Dependents

While no evidence is available yet to support those
465,000 Georgia consumers information have been
illegally shared or sold to identity thieves, it's
highly recommended to minimally seek a credit report
check up for any suspicious account activity the past
six months.

So, today's tip is if you are, have, or know of anyone
who's been covered by the Georgia State Health Benefit
Plan - contact the three major credit bureaus.
Georgia state law allows for up to 2 free credit
reports per year from Equifax, Experian, & Trans Union.