Attorney General Roy Cooper Alert: Phony email attempts to capitalize on Anthem breach


You’ve probably seen the headlines that Anthem Insurance Company has experienced a massive data breach that could affect some 80 million of its customers. In many cases a company that suffers a breach will offer its affected customers free credit monitoring, which makes it easier for people to find out if crooks are using their stolen data to make purchases, open accounts, take out loans, etc.

In this instance, scammers are trying to piggyback on the breach by sending out phony emails offering free credit monitoring. The email contains a link for recipients to click in order to enroll in the monitoring. People who receive this email should not click the link or respond to the message in any way. Anthem customers will be receiving written information from the company regarding the breach (which exposed a lot of confidential information but apparently did not include credit card numbers.)

The breach doesn’t necessarily guarantee that Anthem customers will become a victim of fraud, identity theft, or medical identity theft, but it does put them at greater risk. This breach is a good reminder that we all need to monitor our credit and watch our accounts for unauthorized charges. Check out our detailed list of tips for what to do after a security breach, and for more tips on protecting yourself from crimes and scams, visit www.ncdoj.gov/.

This message brought to you on behalf of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper.