How to Protect Your Data After the Quest Diagnostics Hack
If you’ve ever had an overdue account at the Quest Diagnostics office, it’s time to be more vigilant about your financial statements. Yep: there was another data breach.
This particular violation, committed by a collection agency that works with Quest Diagnostics, may have disclosed medical and financial information to 11.9 million patients.
In a statement yesterday , Quest clarified that the American Medical Collections Agency (AMCA), the collection agency used by Quest, provided a Notice of Confirmed Violation on May 31. Disclosed information does not include lab test results, but may include financial records, social media. Security numbers and medical information.
Quest is involved in an investigation with a collection firm and has stopped submitting invoices to AMCA for collection. According to Bloomberg, AMCA has shut down its web payments and currently has a third-party provider to facilitate payments.
It’s too early to tell if your records have been compromised, as Quest said in a statement that it has not yet received such information from the AMCA to be able to verify it.
What to do until we know more
Whether you think your records may have been affected or the very mention of a data breach makes you nervous, now is a good time to check your records with three credit bureaus.
Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax allow you to freeze and unfreeze your credit for free, so you should go ahead and set a freeze even if you haven’t stepped near a Quest office in your entire life. A credit freeze does not cut you off completely from the wider world of financial services, but rather gives you better control over your credit accounts. A credit freeze prevents lenders from checking your credit, which in turn makes it harder for someone to use your personal information to open a new line of credit in your name.
But that doesn’t stop someone from misusing the financial accounts you already have, as this information can still be revealed through a hack or even if someone stole your wallet (which at this point in history seems like a crime from simpler times). Keep a close eye on your bank statements and credit reports, and if you suspect your identity has become vulnerable to something suspicious, report it to the FTC .