CLEVELAND, March 4 — Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is advising the BLET National Division and its members of steps being taken in the aftermath of the Anthem data breach.
Members are advised that Highmark will send letters to its members that may have been impacted by this breach. This letter will advise members that they may have been impacted and that they will be receiving a letter from Anthem with more information.
Additionally, Anthem will begin to send letters to Highmark members on March 9. These letters will advise members that they may be impacted by this breach and that identify theft protection and credit monitoring is available to them for two years. Due to the volume of this breach, these Anthem letters will be sent in order of priority and the amount of risk the member may be at, with highest risk members receiving letters first. Anthem will be sending over 1 million letters per day, which means that these letters from Anthem may take several months to complete.
Also, members should be aware of scam email campaigns targeting current and former Anthem members. These scams, designed to capture personal information (known as “phishing”), are made 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 click on any links in email.
• 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.
Finally, Anthem is not calling members regarding the cyber attack and is not asking for credit card information or social security numbers over the phone.
Earlier this year, Anthem — a Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer with plans in multiple states — was the target of a sophisticated external cyber attack. These attackers gained unauthorized access to Anthem’s IT system and obtained personal information on current and former members such as their names, birthdays, medical IDs, social security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment information, including income data.
For more information, or if you would like to monitor this situation, please visit the Your Track To Health website:
https://www.yourtracktohealth.com/NewsPage.aspx?MenuId=209