Merchant One, Inc. - Notice of Data Security Event

MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Jan. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Merchant One, Inc. ("Merchant One") today is providing information about a recent event that may impact the privacy of some personal data related to individuals associated with Merchant One.

What Happened? On or about February 24, 2020, Merchant One became aware of suspicious activity related to a third-party IT provider. Upon discovery, Merchant One immediately launched an investigation, which included working with third-party forensic specialists to determine the full nature and scope of this incident. The investigation determined that an unknown individual may have accessed specific files in Merchant One's system. Therefore, Merchant One began a comprehensive review of the files identified as potentially impacted to determine what information was contained therein and to whom it relates. Upon confirmation that personal information was present in the potentially accessed files, Merchant One began reviewing its files to determine address information for those individuals. On January 7, 2021, Merchant One obtained address information to allow it to provide notice of this event to impacted individuals. Merchant One is unaware of any actual or attempted misuse of personal information, but provided notification out of an abundance of caution.

What Information Was Involved? The following information was potentially impacted:  name, address, Social Security number, driver's license number, passport information, tax identification number, date of birth, financial account information, and health insurance information.

What Merchant One is Doing. Upon discovering this incident, Merchant One immediately took steps to confirm the security of our systems. As part of its ongoing commitment to the privacy of personal information in its care, Merchant One implemented additional measures to further protect information, including enhanced email security, multi-factor authentication and additional training. Additionally, Merchant One transitioned to utilizing a different IT provider. Merchant One also notified regulatory authorities, as required by law.  Merchant One is providing those whose personal information may have been exposed to this incident with access to complimentary credit monitoring services through Kroll.

Merchant One encourages potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements, and to monitor their credit reports and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity. Merchant One is providing potentially impacted individuals with contact information for the three major credit reporting agencies, as well as providing advice on how to obtain free credit reports and how to place fraud alerts and security freezes on their credit files.  The relevant contact information is below:

Potentially impacted individuals may also find information regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes and the steps they may take to protect their information by contacting the credit bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission or their state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580, www.consumer.gov/idtheft, 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338), TTY: 1-866-653-4261.

Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement or the individual's state Attorney General.  California Residents: Visit the California Office of Privacy Protection (www.oag.ca.gov/privacy) for additional information on protection against identity theft.  Kentucky Residents: Office of the Attorney General of Kentucky, 700 Capitol Avenue, Suite 118 Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, www.ag.ky.gov, Telephone: 1-502-696-5300.  Maryland Residents: Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, Consumer Protection Division 200 St. Paul Place Baltimore, MD 21202, www.oag.state.md.us/Consumer, Telephone: 1-888-743-0023.  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 violators. 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. You can 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.  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/.  North Carolina Residents: Office of the Attorney General of North Carolina, Consumer Protection Division, 9001 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, www.ncdoj.gov, Telephone: 1-919-716-6400, 877-566-7226 (toll free within NC).  Oregon Residents: Oregon Department of Justice, 1162 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301-4096, www.doj.state. or.us/, Telephone: 877-877-9392.  Washington D.C. Residents: the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia can be reached at: 441 4thStreet NW, Suite 1100 South, Washington, D.C. 20001; 1-202-442-9828; https://oag.dc.gov.

We understand that some people may have additional questions concerning this incident. Individuals can direct questions to our dedicated assistance line at 1-833-971-3227 (toll free), Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., ET.

SOURCE Source: Merchant One, Inc.