Notice of Privacy Incident

MOORESTOWN, N.J., April 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Destination Maternity is writing to advise you of a recent event that may impact the privacy of certain personal information. We write to provide you with information about the event, steps taken since discovering the event, and what you can do to better protect against potential misuse of your information as a result of this event, should you feel it is appropriate to do so.

On March 20, 2021, Destination Maternity experienced a cyber event that impacted certain information technology systems. We immediately took steps to isolate those systems and, as part of our comprehensive response, launched an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the incident. We are working with a leading information security firm to assist in our response and support the investigation.

We learned that this cyber event was initiated by an unauthorized party and affected our network and customer database. This database contains information such as customer names, addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers and potentially due dates if that information was provided to Destination Maternity by our customers. However, we want to assure you that we do not store customer Social Security or credit card numbers, and other financial information and this type of information was not impacted by this event.

We take this incident and the security of personal information in our care seriously.  Upon learning of this incident, we moved quickly to investigate and respond to this incident, assess the security of relevant systems, and notify potentially affected individuals. We also notified and are cooperating with Federal law enforcement. As part of our ongoing commitment to the security of information, we are also reviewing and enhancing existing policies and procedures.

While we do not store customer Social Security numbers or financial information, we encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors over the next 12 to 24 months.  Please also review the below information regarding other suggestions to help protect your information should you feel it necessary.

We understand that you may have questions about this incident that are not addressed here. If you have additional questions, please call our call center at (877) 817-8427 Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, and Saturday and Sunday, 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET.

Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Personal Information

We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, explanation of benefits, and to monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors.  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. 

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 learn more about security freezes and fraud alerts, please contact any one of the agencies listed below:

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 may 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.  This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

SOURCE Destination Maternity