We get a lot of questions about fraud, hacking and just general questions about how to protect your accounts and information from fraud. We try to keep you informed, but we also don’t like to incite panic when we share information. Ultimately we want to be helpful, and we want you to feel safe.
That being said, here’s what we know today:
Hackers recently obtained personal data, including Social Security numbers and birth dates from the Kansas Department of Commerce data system. This data is from websites that help connect people to jobs. This includes Kansas Works. The breach gave criminals access to 5.5 million Social Security numbers across 10 states and the number of people affected in Kansas is over 500,000.
Q: So, why is that important for you to know?
A: You or someone you know could have been a victim of this hack. The State of Kansas sent out 260,000 emails to victims. Kansas law does not require notification by mail or telephone.
Q: What do you need to do?
A: If you or someone you know used a job search website such as kansasworks.com, you need to notify the credit bureaus of a fraud alert. You can do this by contacting one of the three bureaus, which we’ve linked to on our bank website at https://centralnational.com/whycentral/fraudprotection.asp Just click the “Free credit report” link to get access to the three major credit bureaus.
Victims of this hack are entitled to one year of credit monitoring, but you have to act fast since the time to sign up ends on July 31. The call center for victims can be reached at (844) 469-3939.