A. On October 28, 2019, AFTRA Retirement Fund (hereafter referred to as “We”, “AFTRA”, “Our”) received an alert of suspicious activity in our environment. AFTRA immediately launched an investigation into the nature and scope of the incident. As part of the investigation, which was conducted with the assistance of a third-party forensic expert, it was determined that an unauthorized individual accessed AFTRA employees’ credit card information and made a small amount of unauthorized purchases using that information. AFTRA also determined that certain files and folders on our network may have been subject to unauthorized access for periods of time between October 24, 2019 and October 28, 2019.

As we have said previously, we do not have evidence that files containing personal information were accessed; however, access to these files could not be ruled out.

A. After learning of the suspicious activity, AFTRA Retirement Fund immediately launched an investigation into the nature and scope of the incident, which included the assistance of third-party forensic specialists. In order to gather the most accurate information related to the incident, AFTRA undertook a time-consuming review of all the files and folders that may have been accessed to determine what sensitive information they may contain.                           

After a thorough investigation, AFTRA completed a painstaking analysis of the contents of the files and folders and prepared a list of potentially impacted individuals whose information was determined to be present and possibly viewable by the unauthorized individual even though AFTRA did not have evidence that any sensitive information was actually viewed. As soon as AFTRA was able to confirm the list of potentially impacted individuals, AFTRA released a letter notifying them.

A. Monitor Your Accounts.
AFTRA encourages you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft, to review your account statements, and to monitor your credit reports and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity.  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.

Security Freeze.
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 (in no order of preference):

1. 
   Your full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. If you have moved in the past five (5) years, provide the addresses where you have lived over the prior 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.);
7. 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;

 
The credit reporting agencies have one (1) to three (3) business days after receiving your request to place a security freeze on your credit file report, based upon the method of the request.  The credit bureaus must also send written confirmation to you within five (5) business days and provide you with the process by which you may remove the security freeze, including an authentication mechanism.   Upon receiving a direct request from you to remove a security freeze and upon receiving proper identification from you, the consumer reporting agency shall remove a security freeze within one (1) hour after receiving the request by telephone for removal or within three (3) business days after receiving the request by mail for removal.

The credit reporting agencies have one (1) to three (3) business days after receiving your request to place a security freeze on your credit file report, based upon the method of the request.  The credit bureaus must also send written confirmation to you within five (5) business days and provide you with the process by which you may remove the security freeze, including an authentication mechanism.   Upon receiving a direct request from you to remove a security freeze and upon receiving proper identification from you, the consumer reporting agency shall remove a security freeze within one (1) hour after receiving the request by telephone for removal or within three (3) business days after receiving the request by mail for removal.

Place Fraud Alerts.
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 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 agencies listed below ( in no order of preference):

File Police Report.
You have the right to file or obtain a police report if you experience identity fraud. Please note that in order to file a crime report or incident report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide proof that you have been a victim. A police report is often required to dispute fraudulent items. You can generally report suspected incidents of identity theft to local law enforcement or to the Attorney General.

Additional information on how to protect your identity.
You can also 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, your state Attorney General, or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at:  600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338); and TTY: 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 also obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General.  This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.      

For Maryland residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, 1-410-528-8662, https://dbm.maryland.gov/pages/divoag.aspx.

For New Mexico residents, you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violator. You 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 you to review your 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 North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000, www.ncdoj.gov. You can obtain information from the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission about preventing identity theft.

For Rhode Island Residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General can be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02903; www.riag.ri.gov/ 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, you have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this incident. There are 79 Rhode Island residents impacted by this incident.

For New York residents, the Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; https://ag.ny.gov/

For Washington, D.C. residents, the Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia can be reached at: 441 4th Street NW, Suite 1100 South, Washington, D.C. 20001; 1-202-442-9828; https://oag.dc.gov.