Provided
COLUMBIA, S.C. –
South Carolina taxpayers affected by the information security data
breach at the South Carolina Department of
Revenue now have until March 31, 2013, to sign up for a year of free
credit monitoring and unlimited fraud resolution provided by Experian.
The deadline to sign up for monitoring and fraud resolution had been
January 31, 2013.
Governor
Nikki Haley reiterated that anyone who has filed a South Carolina tax
return since 1998 should take the following steps:
-
Call 1-866-578-5422 to enroll in a consumer protection service. (The
call center is open 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM EST on Monday through Friday and
11:00 AM – 8:00 PM EST on Saturday and Sunday.)
-
For any South Carolina taxpayer who wishes to bypass the telephone
option, there currently is an online service available at
http://www.protectmyid.com/scdor. Enter the code SCDOR123 when prompted.
Experian's
ProtectMyID™ Alert is designed to detect, protect and resolve potential
identity theft, and includes daily monitoring of all three credit
bureaus. The alerts and daily monitoring
services are provided for one year, and consumers will continue to have
access to fraud resolution agents and services beyond the first year.
Complimentary 12-month ProtectMyID memberships available to South
Carolina taxpayers affected by the DOR information
security breach include:
- Credit Report: A free copy of your Experian credit report.
-
Daily 3 Bureau Credit Monitoring: Alerts you of suspicious activity
including new inquiries, newly opened accounts, delinquencies, or
medical collections found on your Experian, Equifax®
and TransUnion® credit reports.
-
Identity Theft Resolution: If you have been a victim of identity theft,
you will be assigned a dedicated, U.S.-based Experian Identity Theft
Resolution Agent who will walk you through
the fraud resolution process, from start to finish.
-
ExtendCARE: Full access to the same personalized assistance from a
highly-trained Fraud Resolution Agent even after your initial
ProtectMyID membership expires.
-
$1 Million Identity Theft Insurance: As a ProtectMyID member, you are
immediately covered by a $1 Million insurance policy that can help you
cover certain costs including, lost wages,
private investigator fees, and unauthorized electronic fund transfers.
As
of Thursday, there had been 957,575 signups for Experian's ProtectMyID
program. Access to unlimited fraud resolution beyond the one year
enrollment period is included in Experian's ProtectMyID
membership. Taxpayers who sign up for protection will also be notified –
by email or letter – about how to sign up for a "Family Secure Plan" if
they claim minors as dependents.
Dun
& Bradstreet Credibility Corp offers South Carolina businesses that
have filed a tax return since 1998 a CreditAlert product that will
alert customers to changes taking place in their
business credit file. Even something as simple as a change to a
business address or a company officer change would set off an alert to
the business owner. The cost will be waived for business filing tax
returns since 1998. Business owners can visit
http://www.dandb.com/sc/ or they can call customer service toll free at this dedicated phone number 1-800-279-9881.
Experian
offers those impacted South Carolina businesses Business Credit
AdvantageSM - a self-monitoring service that allows access to a
company's business credit report and score. South
Carolina businesses can sign up for Business Credit AdvantageSM at
http://www.smartbusinessreports.com/SouthCarolina.
