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Insurer Anthem offers 2 years of free credit monitoring

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Anthem is now offering several free protection services to its customers after what they’re calling a sophisticated cyber attack.

The attack compromised millions of people’s personal information.

Starting Friday, consumers can log onto the website to enroll for credit monitoring protection.

Consumers will be prompted to a page where it will ask them to enter your name and email address. Once you click “submit” you should receive a confirmation email within 72 hours with further instructions on want to do next.

“We’re pleased that we’re offering these services 11 days after we disclosed the attack on our system and that period of time is much faster than we’ve seen with some other recent high profile security breaches in other industries,” said spokesperson Tony Felts.

Anthem is offering additional protection services for current and former members dating back to 2004. Services will include identity theft repair, credit monitoring and child identity protection.

“We were the victims of a very sophisticated cyber-attack there’s no question about that,” said Felts. “We think that by offering these services to our customers we’re offering some peace of mind.”

Anthem alerted customers that their personal information, like, social security number, home and email addresses, health care ID among other things had been compromised.

Social media quickly lit up with concerns. News of the free protection services provided comfort for some people on Facebook, but for others still had many questions.

One person wanted to know, “What are they doing for past customers or does this apply to all who have had relationships with Anthem?” Another person argued, “They will just raise your rates to cover it.”

But Anthem spokesperson disagreed with that.

“This incident will have no affect on insurance rates,” said Felts.

If customers don’t want to enroll online then they can call a hotline number.

“The phone lines will reopen Saturday morning at 9 a.m. and will be opened until 9 p.m., so if you don’t have access to the internet you can call the hotline and enroll in the service that way,” said Felts.

The hotline number to enroll in credit monitoring is 877-263-7995. Phone lines will be opened Monday through Saturday and members may access the free services at any time during the 24 month coverage period.

Anthem is planning to send out letters to members letting them know about the services, but you don’t have to wait until you get that letter to enroll.

The free identity protection includes:

  • Identity Theft Repair Assistance: Should a member experience fraud, an investigator will do the work to recover financial losses, restore the member’s credit, and ensure the member’s identity is returned to its proper condition. This assistance will cover any fraud that has occurred since the incident first began.
  • Credit Monitoring: At no cost, members may also enroll in credit monitoring, which alerts consumers when banks and creditors use their identity to open new credit accounts.
  • Child Identity Protection: Child-specific identity protection services will also be offered to any members with children insured through their Anthem plan.