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Hazlet Township Police Department Provides Notice of Security Incident
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Hazlet, NJ (April 15, 2022) - The Hazlet Township Police Department (the "Department") is providing notice of an incident that may affect the security of some personal information. While the Department has no evidence of actual or attempted misuse of any of your information, this notice provides information about the incident, the Department's response, and steps available to individuals to protect against the possibility of identity theft and fraud.
What Happened? During November 2021, the Department identified unusual activity on its network, and promptly investigated the activity and discovered portions of its network were infected with malware. The Department also followed contingency procedures to ensure no impact on law enforcement operations. The Department worked with computer forensic specialists to determine the nature and scope of the event, including any risk to data. The investigation confirmed an unauthorized actor gained access to limited folders in the police department's network between November 9, 2021 and November 15, 2021; however, it could not confirm what specific information was accessed by any unauthorized individual. The Department then undertook a lengthy and time-intensive thorough review to identify any potentially impacted information and to whom it related, which was completed on March 24, 2022. The police department then worked to notify impacted individuals as required by law.
What Information Was Involved? There is no evidence of any fraudulent misuse of information, and we cannot confirm at this time whether anyone's information was actually accessed; however, the Department is notifying potentially impacted individuals out of an abundance of caution. The investigation determined that the information that may have been affected could include names, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers or state identification numbers, and limited financial account information.
What We Are Doing. After discovering suspicious activity, the Department worked to ensure continuity of services for the Township, and then promptly conducted a comprehensive investigation of the event to confirm its nature and scope and to assess network security. Further, the Department continues to review policies and procedures for securing its network and information in its care. The Department also reported this event to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and has been cooperating with their investigation.
What You Can Do. The Department encourages individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports for suspicious activity. You should report any such activity to law enforcement. Please also review the information contained in the below Steps You Can Take to Protect Personal Information.
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 your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. You may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of your 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 you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one 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 your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on your credit report. To request a security freeze, you will need to provide 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 you are a victim of
identity theft.
Should you wish to place a credit freeze, 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
888-298-0045
1-888-397-3742
833-395-6938
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
You may also obtain an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) from the Internal Revenue Service, a six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing a tax return using your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. The IP PIN is known only to you and the IRS, and helps the IRS verify your identity when you file your electronic or paper tax return. Even though you may not have a filing requirement, an IP PIN still protects your account. If you do not already have an IP PIN, you may get an IP PIN as a proactive step to protect yourself from tax-related identity theft either online, by paper application or in-person. Information about the IP PIN program can be found here: https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin.
You may further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may 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 also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.
MEDIA CONTACT - James Paulino, 267-930-4741
/PRNewswire -- April 15, 2022/
SOURCE Hazlet Township Police Department
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