Specialized Alternatives for Families & Youth of America, Inc. Provides Notice of Data Security Event

DELPHOS, Ohio, Sept. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Specialized Alternatives for Families & Youth of America, Inc. ("SAFY") issued notice of a recent data security event that potentially affected the confidentiality of personal information related to certain individuals. SAFY receives records related to individuals from several SAFY affiliates who provide numerous services to individuals and families, including adoption, foster care, family preservation services, and behavioral, cognitive, and mental health services.

Earlier this year, SAFY was notified of a potential scam that involved the posting of fictitious job openings at SAFY via the employment clearinghouse website Indeed.com. Upon learning of this activity, SAFY conducted an extensive investigation, with the assistance of third-party computer forensic specialists, to determine the nature and scope of the reports.

On July 2, 2020, the investigation confirmed certain SAFY employee email accounts were accessible by an unknown actor between February 25, 2020 and June 23, 2020. The investigation was unable to determine the full extent of information that was accessed by the unknown actor. In an abundance of caution, SAFY performed a comprehensive review of all information stored in the impacted email accounts at the time of the event to identify the individuals whose information may have been accessible to the unknown actor. On August 12, 2020, SAFY received the results of the third-party audit. SAFY immediately began reviewing the results of the audit to determine the identities and contact information for potentially impacted individuals. On August 27, 2020, SAFY confirmed the identities of potentially affected individuals.

The email accounts contained certain types of information, such as full name, address, date of birth, driver's license number, Social Security number, tax identification number, passport number, financial account number, payment card number, Medicaid ID, group number, clinical information, diagnosis, doctor's name, health insurance member number, patient account number, medical record number, medical procedure information, prescription information, treatment type or location, and username and password.  Not all of this information is present for every potentially impacted individual, and we are unaware that any of the information was actually accessed or acquired by the unknown actor. SAFY takes this incident and the security of the information in its care very seriously, and is therefore providing this notice in an abundance of caution.

SAFY is notifying potentially affected individuals by this release, notification on its website, and by mailing letters to potentially affected individuals. For individuals seeking additional information regarding this incident, a dedicated toll-free assistance line has been established. Individuals may call the assistance line at 888-490-0692, Monday through Friday (excluding U.S. holidays), during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Time.

Individuals can also find additional information on how they can protect their personal information, as well as obtain additional resources on SAFY's website www.safy.org and in the letters they will receive by mail. This includes an offer of complimentary credit monitoring and identity restoration services. As a precautionary measure, SAFY encourages potentially affected individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft by reviewing account statements and explanations of benefits for unusual activity and reporting any suspicious activity immediately to their insurance company, health care provider, and financial institution.

As part of SAFY's ongoing commitment to privacy of the personal information in its care, SAFY is working to review its existing policies and procedures and to implement additional safeguards to further secure the information in our systems. SAFY also notified the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other government regulators, as required. SAFY deeply regrets that this matter occurred and sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience or concern it may have caused.

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SOURCE Specialized Alternatives for Families & Youth of America, Inc. (SAFY)