TVCC Data Security Incident
Dec. 17, 2020
Treasure Valley Community College Notifies Consumers of Data Security Incident
Treasure Valley Community College (“TVCC”) has become aware of a data security incident that may have involved the personal information of certain TVCC community members. TVCC is offering complimentary credit monitoring services to them.
In September 2020, TVCC learned that unauthorized access to an employee email account had by an unknown person may have exposed personal information about members of the TVCC community. The information may have included student ID numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. It is possible that the access to the email account could have happened between June and December, 2019.
TVCC is currently working to contact every affected individual. Unfortunately, TVCC does not have address information for a some of the individuals whose dates of birth and student ID numbers may have been involved.
TVCC is setting up a services through a toll-free call center to answer questions about the incident and to help the affected persons enroll in complimentary credit monitoring services. The call center can be reached by calling (833) 754-1360 or going to https://response.idx.us/tvcc The call center will be available Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time.
While TVCC is not aware of the misuse of any information impacted by this incident, TVCC is offering complimentary credit monitoring services to affected individuals and providing information about steps they can take to protect their personal information. If you believe you may have been affected by this incident, you can also contact our call center to sign up for protection.
TVCC deeply regrets any concern or inconvenience this issue may have caused and is taking affirmative steps to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
An unknown actor gained unauthorized access to a TVCC employee email account in order to fraudulently redirect a payment that was supposed to be made to the College. Although we had no information that any data was accessed in the account, we investigated further and in September, 2020, we learned that there was some sensitive information in the account which might have been accessed. We then notified the College community.
While that is unclear, if the access happened, it occurred some time in 2019. We did not learn what happened and that sensitive information may have been involved until September, 2020.
As soon as we discovered the incident, we constructed a team of legal and cybersecurity experts who investigated the incident. This investigation revealed that sensitive information about individuals may have been at risk.
TVCC did not know of the access as it was happening. As soon as TVCC found out, it investigated the incident to determine what happened.
For most affected people, the information involved included names, Social Security numbers, and student identification numbers. For some people date of birth was also included.
Here is the contact information for each of the three credit reporting agencies:
TransUnion
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19016
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Experian
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
1-866-349-5191
www.equifax.com
The call center can be reached by calling (833) 754-1360 or going to https://response.idx.us/tvcc
You can follow and review your account statements and credit reports closely. To receive
a free copy of your credit report, you can visit:
Free Annual Report
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348
1-877-322-8228
annualcreditreport.com
If you detect any suspicious activity on an account, you should promptly notify the financial institution or company with which the account is maintained. You also should promptly report any fraudulent activity or any suspected incidence of identity theft to proper law enforcement authorities, your state attorney general, and/or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
TransUnion (FVAD)
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30374
1-866-349-5191
www.equifax.com
You may choose to notify the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Trans Union, and request they flag the deceased credit file. This will prevent the credit file information from being used to open credit. To make this request, mail a copy of your family member’s death certificate to each company at the addresses below:
Equifax
Equifax Information Services
P.O. Box 105169
Atlanta, GA 30348
www.equifax.com
TransUnion
P.O. Box 1000
Chester, PA 19016
1-800-916-8800
www.transunion.com
Experian
Experian Information Services
P.O. Box 9701
Allen, TX 75013
www.experian.com
You can request that each of the three national credit reporting agencies perform a manual search for a minor’s Social Security number to determine if there is an associated credit report. Copies of identifying information for the minor and parent/guardian may be required, including birth or adoption certificate, Social Security card and government issued identification card. If a credit report exists, you should request a copy of the report and immediately report any fraudulent accounts to the credit reporting agency. You can also report any misuse of a minor’s information to the FTC here For more information about Child Identity Theft and instructions for requesting a manual Social Security number search, visit the FTC website
Contact information for the three national credit reporting agencies is listed above.
For more information,
contact Abby Lee alee@tvcc.cc
Associate Vice President of College & Public Relations