LHC Group, Inc. Data Breach Notice (Washington Attorney General)

What to do now

Steps that match what this notice says was exposed

Every step below is free and you do it yourself, and none of it depends on LHC Group, Inc..

1. Freeze your credit — this is the one that matters. A freeze is free, it takes minutes, and it has to be done separately at all three bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It stops a new account being opened in your name, which is what a Social Security number in the wrong hands is for. You can lift it temporarily whenever you need credit.
2. Tell your bank before you do anything else. Account and routing details are the fastest-moving of the fields in this notice. Call the number on the back of your card rather than any number in an email, and ask them to watch the account and reissue the card.
3. Read your next explanation of benefits. Medical identity theft shows up as treatment you did not receive, billed to your policy and written into your medical record. Your insurer can flag the policy, and you can request an accounting of disclosures from the provider named here.
4. Expect the phone calls to get better. A date of birth is not secret, but it is what call centres use to confirm you are you. Treat any unexpected call that already knows your details as unverified until you call the company back yourself.

One more, whatever was exposed: a breach notice is a favourite disguise for a phishing email. If a message about this arrives, do not use its links — go to the company’s site yourself, or call the number on your statement.