This week the second largest health insurer in the US disclosed that it has been hacked and the hackers potentially stole the personal data of tens of millions of Americans.The victims of the data breach are finding themselves the targets of a widespread phishing scheme from fraudsters who managed to get their hands on the stolen information.
Current and past Anthem subscribers are receiving emails and even cold calls from scam artists claiming to be from the company, the US's second largest health insurer.
Anthem warned customers not to open or reply to any such emails – being extra careful not to click hyperlinks or open any attachments.
Customer names, birthdays, social security numbers, street addresses, email addresses and employment data were all said to be vulnerable following the breach, and Anthem says that scam artists have also attempted to contact the victims by telephone.
“Anthem is not calling members regarding the cyberattack and is not asking for credit card information or social security numbers over the phone,” the company said. “This outreach is from scam artists who are trying to trick consumers into sharing personal data.”
This outreach is from scam artists who are trying to trick consumers into sharing personal data. There is no indication that the scam email campaigns are being conducted by those that committed the cyber attack, or that the information accessed in the attack is being used by the scammers.
"Anthem will contact current and former members via mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service about the cyber attack with specific information on how to enroll in credit monitoring. Affected members will receive free credit monitoring and ID protection services."
Security experts say it isn't clear if the stolen data has been distributed publicly yet and is thus being used for the phishing scams, or if fraudsters are merely using the news of the hacking and trying to pray on Anthem customers.
