Newton Centre Dental, which provides dental services to individuals, is committed to protecting the privacy and security of the information we maintain. On March 8, 2024, and May 24, 2024, Newton Centre Dental mailed notification letters to certain individuals whose information may have been involved in a data security incident that Newton Centre Dental experienced.
On June 21, 2023, Affinity Dental Management, which provides administrative services to Newton Centre Dental, became aware of suspicious activity concerning an employee’s email account. Upon becoming aware of the activity, Newton Centre Dental immediately launched an investigation into the nature and scope of the event with the assistance of third-party forensic specialists. The investigation determined that an unauthorized person gained access to a Newton Centre Dental email account between May 27, 2023, and June 21, 2023, and may have viewed certain information in the account. In response, Newton Centre Dental undertook a comprehensive and time-intensive review of all emails and files contained within the account that could have been accessed and/or acquired without authorization to determine if they contain sensitive information and to whom it related.
Newton Centre Dental determined that the affected files contained personal health information belonging to certain individuals. The information varies per individual but may include some or all of the following: name, Social Security number, date of birth, driver’s license number, passport number, taxpayer ID number, financial account information, billing information, medical information, treatment cost, health insurance information, treatment location, mental or physical condition and treatment, procedure type, doctor’s name, diagnosis, treatment information, treatment type, treating/referring physician, prescription information, diagnosis, diagnosis code, dental imaging, patient identification number, medical record number, and admission date. Newton Centre Dental is not aware of any attempted or actual misuse of individuals’ information.
We value individuals’ privacy and deeply regret any concern that this incident might cause. As part of our ongoing commitment to the privacy of information in our care, we are implementing additional technical security measures to strengthen the security of our systems. We are also reviewing and enhancing our existing data privacy policies and procedures.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please call us (833) 918-5445, Monday through Friday from 8am to 8pm Central Time, excluding major U.S. holidays. You may also write to Newton Centre Dental, 330 Whitney Ave., Suite 740, Holyoke, MA 01040.
We encourage potentially impacted individuals 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. Individuals may contact the three major credit reporting agencies for advice on how to obtain free credit reports and how to place fraud alerts and security freezes on credit files. The relevant contact information is below.
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. Should you wish to place a security freeze, please contact the major consumer reporting agencies listed below:
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Experian P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/freeze/center.html TransUnion P.O. Box 160 Woodlyn, PA 19094 1-800-916-8800 www.transunion.com/credit-freeze Equifax P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 1-800-685-1111 www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services
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In order to request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:
Your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.), Social Security number, date of birth, if you have moved in the past five (5) years, provide the addresses where you have lived over the prior five years, proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill, and a legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, military identification, etc.). Additionally, please note if you are a victim of identity theft, include a copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft.
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 one-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 place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the agencies listed below:
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Experian P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/fraud/center.html |
TransUnion P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016 1-800-916-8800 www.transunion.com/fraud-victim-resource/place-fraud-alert |
Equifax P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348 1-888-766-0008 www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services |
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 can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.identitytheft.gov, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); 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.
For Massachusetts Residents, Under Massachusetts law, you have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this incident. If you are the victim of identity theft, you also have the right to file a police report and obtain a copy of it.
For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001; (202) 442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.
For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.
For New Mexico residents,consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers 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. We encourage consumers to review their 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.
For New York residents,the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.
For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.
For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; www.riag.ri.gov; and 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event. There are approximately [14] Rhode Island residents that may be impacted by this event.