Colonial Park Realty Co t/a Enders Provides Notice of Data Privacy Event

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Colonial Park Realty Co t/a Enders ("Enders") recently announced an event that may have impacted the privacy of personal information relating to certain individuals and businesses. While Enders is unaware of any attempted or actual misuse of personal information in relation to the event, Enders provided potentially affected individuals with notice, information about the event and steps individuals could take to help protect their personal information.

On May 7, 2020, Enders became aware of suspicious activity in an employee's email account. Enders immediately changed the employee's email account credentials and began an investigation into the incident.  As part of the investigation, which was conducted with the assistance of third-party forensic specialists, it was determined that the employee's email account was subject to unauthorized access from April 13, 2020 to May 7, 2020. Therefore, Enders conducted a thorough and time-consuming review of the account to identify any individuals or businesses whose sensitive information was contained in the account. Through the review, Enders determined that sensitive information related to certain individuals and businesses could be impacted. Although there is no evidence that this information was viewed by an unauthorized individual, Enders provided notice to potentially affected individuals in an abundance of caution.

Enders' investigation determined the information that was potentially subject to unauthorized access included individuals' name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, financial account information, payment card information, health insurance information and medical treatment/diagnosis information.

Enders takes the security of personal information in its care very seriously. As part of Enders' ongoing commitment to protecting information in its care, they worked with third-party specialists to reaffirm the security of its systems and to enhance the existing measures in place. Enders has taken and will continue to take steps to help reduce the likelihood of a similar situation from occurring in the future.

Enders recommends you remain vigilant against attempts to obtain sensitive information through social engineering.  In addition, as a best practice, individuals should always carefully review their online accounts for unauthorized activity and report any instances of fraud to law enforcement. Enders notified state regulators as required of this incident.

Additional information about the event can be found at Enders website: https://endersinsurance.com.

Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Against Identity Theft and Fraud

Monitor Your Accounts. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, and to monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity.  Under U.S. law you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus.  To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228.  You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.

You have the right to place a "security freeze" on your credit report, which will prohibit a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in your credit report without your express authorization.  The security 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 security 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 security freeze on your credit report.  Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major consumer reporting agencies listed below:

In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

1. Your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. If you have moved in the past five (5) years, provide the addresses where you have lived over the prior five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver's license or ID card, military identification, etc.);
7. If you are a victim of identity theft, include a copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft.

As an alternative to a security freeze, you have the right to place an initial or extended "fraud alert" on your file at no cost.  An initial fraud alert is a 1-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 agencies listed below:

Additional Information

You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. 

The Federal Trade Commission can 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 also 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.

For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, 1-410-528-8662, www.oag.state.md.us.

For New Mexico residents, you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violator. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

For New York residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; https://ag.ny.gov/.

For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000, www.ncdoj.gov. You can obtain information from the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission about preventing identity theft.

For Rhode Island residents, the Attorney General may be contacted by mail at 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; by phone at (401) 274-4400; and online at www.riag.ri.gov. There are 0 Rhode Island residents impacted by this incident.

For Washington, D.C. residents, the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia can be reached at 441 4th Street NW, Suite 1100 South, Washington, D.C. 20001; 1-202-442-9828; https://oag.dc.gov.

SOURCE Colonial Park Realty Co t/a Enders