The City of San Luis (“the City”) is providing notice of a data privacy incident that may have impacted personal information. This notice provides details of the incident, our response, and steps individuals may take to better protect against possible misuse of their personal information, should they feel it appropriate to do so.
What Happened? On March 7, 2023, the City became aware of suspicious activity in one employee's email account. We immediately took steps to secure our email environment and launched an investigation to determine the full nature and scope of the activity. Our investigation determined that the employee’s email account was accessed without authorization for a period of time between February 1 and February 21, 2023. Therefore, we conducted a detailed review of the content of the email account to assess what personal information was accessible during the period of unauthorized access. On May 4, 2023, the City completed the review and then worked to identify accurate address information for the potentially impacted population.
What Information Was Involved? While the specific data elements vary for each potentially affected individual, the scope of information potentially involved includes an individual’s name, address, driver’s license number, health insurance information, medical information, date of birth, and Social Security number.
The City takes the confidentiality, privacy, and security of information in its care seriously. Upon discovery, we immediately commenced an investigation to confirm the nature and scope of the incident. We are taking steps to implement additional safeguards and review policies and procedures relating to data privacy and security.
We encourage potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing their accounts, explanations of benefits, and credit reports for suspicious activity and to report any suspicious activity to the affiliated institutions immediately. Individuals may contact the three major credit reporting agencies for advice on how to obtain free credit reports and how to place fraud alerts and security freezes on credit files. The relevant contact information is below.
Whom Should Individuals Contact for More Information? If you have additional questions, please call our dedicated assistance line toll-free at (866) 547-6815, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 5:30 pm Central Time (except U.S. holidays). You may also write to the City of San Luis, P.O. Box 1170, Arizona 85349.
Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information
Monitor Your Accounts
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 one-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 may need to provide the following information, depending on whether the request is made online, by phone, or by mail:
- Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
- Social Security number;
- Date of birth;
- Addresses for the prior two to five years;
- Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
- A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
- 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 | 1-800-916-8800 |
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 | Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 | TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016 |
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 | Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 | TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094 |
Additional Information
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 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.