HOLLAND, Michigan — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is urging students at Hope College to take steps to secure their personal information after the school disclosed a data breach earlier this month.
The data breach is believed to have occurred on Sep. 27 and affects both current and former students at the college.
The data believed to have been compromised includes: Dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers and student ID numbers.
“Anyone who received notice from Hope College related to this breach should be taking steps to combat potential identify theft,” Nessel said. “While bad actors may have access to your information as a result of this breach, there are ways to protect yourself if your information was compromised.”
Nessel is urging anyone who believes they were affected by the breach to take these steps to protect themselves.
- Monitor your credit. Credit monitoring services track your credit report and alert you whenever a change is made, such as a new account or a large purchase. Most services will notify you within 24 hours of any change to your credit report.
- Consider placing a free credit freeze on your credit report.Identity thieves will not be able to open a new credit account in your name while the freeze is in place. You can place a credit freeze by contacting each of the three major credit bureaus:
- Place a fraud alert on your credit report. A fraud alert tells lenders and creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before issuing credit. You can place a fraud alert by contacting any one of the three major credit bureaus.
- Additional Resources. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website for assistance on how to report it and recover from it—or contact the Attorney General’s Office for help.
- Hope College is offering 12-months of free credit monitoring service to those affected. A call center has been set up to answer any questions and can be reached at 833-540-0798.
For more information on data breaches and what to do if you believe your personal data has been compromised, visit this guide from the Michigan Department of Attorney General.
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