Security Notice

Fellowship Village is announcing a recent event that may impact the security of information related to certain current or former Fellowship Village patients. Although Fellowship Village presently has no evidence that any such information has been used to commit identity theft or fraud, Fellowship Village is providing information about the incident, steps taken since discovering the incident, and resources available to individuals to help protect their information from possible misuse, should they feel it is appropriate to do so.

What Happened? On or around August 9, 2023, Fellowship Village became aware of suspicious activity affecting certain systems within the network. Fellowship Village immediately launched an investigation to confirm the full nature and scope of the activity. The investigation determined there was unauthorized access to Fellowship Village’s network between July 27, 2023, and August 9, 2023, and that certain files and folders within the network were or may have been taken without authorization during that time. Fellowship Village’s investigation to determine the information that may have been present in the potentially affected files is ongoing. Fellowship Village will notify affected individuals identified through the review process and for whom it has address information via letter with additional information and is also posting this notice on its website.

What Information Was Affected? The investigation into the affected information is ongoing. The information potentially affected may include a combination of certain individuals’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, patient identification numbers, medical record numbers, medical information, treatment information, diagnosis information, health insurance information, driver’s license/state identification numbers, financial account information, and dates of birth.

What Fellowship Village is Doing. Fellowship Village takes this incident and the security of information in their care very seriously. Upon becoming aware of this incident, Fellowship Village promptly commenced an investigation to confirm the nature and scope of this incident. This investigation and response included confirming the security of our systems, reviewing the contents of relevant data for sensitive information, and investigating to determine the information that may be impacted. Fellowship Village also notified federal law enforcement. As part of Fellowship Village’s ongoing commitment to the privacy of information in their care, Fellowship Village is reviewing its policies, procedures and processes to reduce the likelihood of a similar future event. Fellowship Village will also notify applicable regulatory authorities where necessary.

For More Information. If you believe you are potentially impacted by this incident or have additional questions, you may contact Fellowship Village by email at privacy@fellowshiplifeinc.org; online at https://fellowshiplifeinc.org/fellowship-village/securitynotice/; or, by mail at 8000 Fellowship Village Road, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.

What You Can Do. Fellowship Village sincerely regrets any inconvenience this incident may have caused potentially impacted current or former Fellowship Village patients. Fellowship Village is providing notice of this incident along with information and steps a potentially impacted individual can do to better protect their information, should they feel it is appropriate to do so. Fellowship Village encourages all potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant by reviewing account statements, monitoring free credit reports and Explanation of Benefits for suspicious activity, and to detect errors. 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. You 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 you wish to place a fraud alert or credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Additional Information

Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 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. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have 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, consumers 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 relevant state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001; 202-727-3400; and oag.dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.

For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers 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 consumers to review their 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 New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.

For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; www.riag.ri.gov; and 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event. The number of Rhode Island residents is currently unknown.