Bassford Remele is providing notification of a recent incident. Bassford Remele provides legal services to certain healthcare organizations and in order to provide these services, Bassford Remele needs access to certain information which healthcare organizations provide to Bassford Remele. Unfortunately, Bassford Remele recently suffered a data incident that may affect the privacy of certain information provided by those healthcare organizations to Bassford Remele.

On September 4, 2024, Bassford Remele learned that unauthorized emails were sent from a third-party application purporting to be from an employee’s email account. Upon discovery, we immediately secured the email account and third-party specialists were engaged to investigate the incident. Our investigation determined that an unknown third-party accessed the affected email account between July 29, 2024, and September 4, 2024. During that timeframe, we could not rule out that an unknown third-party accessed or acquired the contents of the email account. Therefore, we reviewed the contents of the email account to determine the type of information potentially involved and to whom it related. The information varied by individual but may include: patient names, provider names, contact information, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account information, taxpayer information, dates of birth, dates of death, medical record information, health insurance information, and/or treatment and diagnosis information.

Bassford Remele has taken steps to address the incident and we are committed to protecting the information entrusted to us. Upon learning of this incident, we immediately began an investigation. We also implemented additional security measures to further protect our systems and help prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Additionally, we are mailing notice letters to potentially affected individuals for whom we have address information. The letters will include information about this incident and steps that individuals can take to monitor and help protect their information, including access to free credit monitoring and identity protection services. Additional steps that individuals may take to monitor and protect their information are also included below. We have also established a toll-free call center to answer questions about the incident, provide access to free credit monitoring and identity protection services for potentially affected individuals, and address related concerns. The call center is available between the hours of 7AM and 7PM Central Time, excluding major U.S. holidays, and can be reached at 1-800-405-6108.

In general, we encourage individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing credit reports/account statements and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Under U.S. law, individuals are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.

Individuals have the right to place an initial or extended fraud alert on a credit file at no cost. If individuals are a victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert lasting seven years. As an alternative to a fraud alert, they have the right to place a credit freeze on a credit report. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved without consent. Pursuant to federal law, individuals cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on your credit report.

Should you wish to place a fraud alert or credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

• TransUnion, 1-800-680-7289, www.transunion.com
• Experian, 1-888-397-3742, www.experian.com
• Equifax, 1-888-298-0045, www.equifax.com

You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the credit reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or your state Attorney General. The FTC also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. The FTC may be reached at 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement, your state Attorney General, and the FTC.