Sincera Reproductive Medicine Provides Notice of Data Security Incident

FORT WASHINGTON, Pa., May 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sincera Reproductive Medicine (“Sincera”), formerly known as Abington Reproductive Medicine, announced today that it has taken action after becoming aware of potential unauthorized access to certain patient information. In an abundance of caution, Sincera is providing notice of this event to potentially impacted individuals, as well as certain regulators.

What Happened? On September 11, 2020, Sincera observed suspicious activity related to its internal IT systems. In response, Sincera launched an immediate response and investigation of the incident with the assistance of third-party incident response and forensic specialists. Sincera determined that an unauthorized actor had gained access to its systems and Sincera removed that access on September 13, 2020. Additionally, Sincera was able to establish that on August 10, 2020, the unauthorized actor gained access to its systems and may have exfiltrated certain patient data from its network between August 10, 2020 and September 13, 2020. Sincera subsequently conducted a thorough and comprehensive assessment of information held on its systems that this actor may have had access to and to whom that information pertained. This included the detailed and labor intensive review of all potentially impacted records which Sincera consolidated and analyzed. On April 22, 2021, Sincera confirmed the specific information potentially impacted during this incident. While Sincera is unaware of any potential misuse of data related to this incident, they have shared this information with patients in an abundance of caution.

What Information Was Involved? While the information varied depending on the individual, Sincera’s investigation determined that at the time of the incident the impacted systems contained information including patient names, and depending on the individual, Social Security number, driver’s license, date of birth, medical treatment and/or medical diagnosis, treating/referring physician, prescription information, biometric information, health insurance information, and other treatment information.

What They Are Doing. The confidentiality, privacy, and security of its patient information is among its highest priorities, and Sincera takes this incident very seriously. In response to this incident, Sincera moved swiftly to confirm the security of its internal systems and to prevent continued unauthorized access to its network. As part of its response to this event, Sincera reported this event to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and also provided notifications to state and federal regulators as required.

What Potentially Affected Individuals Can Do. Sincera recommends patients remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing any Explanation of Benefits forms received and be careful of any communications attempting to use the patient’s medical history to validate requests for additional personal or financial information.

Monitor Your Accounts

Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of your credit report.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-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 three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit 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 credit 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 credit freeze on your credit report. To request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, military identification, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if you are a victim of identity theft.

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

Additional Information

A person may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and 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. A person can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. A person has the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, a person will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the person’s state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

For More Information. Additional information about this event is available at Sincera’s website https://sincerareproductive.com/.

Contact:
Vince Regan
Mullen Coughlin LLC
vregan@mullen.law
(267) 930-4842

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SOURCE Sincera Reproductive Medicine