Anthem, Inc., the parent organization of Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the hospital administrator for the NYSHIP Empire Plan reported an extensive security breach of their members' data. Names, dates of birth, member IDs/Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and employment information of current and former members were impacted. In the coming weeks, Anthem will send letters to impacted members with an offer of free credit monitoring and identity protection services.
In the interim, direct inquiries to www.anthemfacts.com or 877-263-7995. The website includes FAQs and will be updated as additional information becomes available.
You should be aware of scam email campaigns targeting current and former Anthem members. These scams, designed to capture personal information (known as "phishing"), are designed to appear as if they are from Anthem and the emails include a "click here" link for credit monitoring. These emails are NOT from Anthem.
DO NOT reply to the email or reach out to the senders in any way.
DO NOT supply any information on the website that may open, if you have clicked on a link in email.
DO NOT open any attachments that arrive with email.
Anthem is not calling members regarding the cyber attack and is not asking for credit card information or Social Security numbers over the phone. For more guidance on recognizing scam email, please visit the FTC website: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0003-phishing.