Read the Notification letter.
What happened?
On June 13, 2020, CSC was the victim of a ransomware cyberattack. See below to read the notification letter.
We have created several resources to help affected individuals.
Identity theft refers to the stealing of someone else's personal information for criminal purposes. Identity theft can be unsophisticated (e.g. stealing your mail) or sophisticated (e.g. phishing emails or database breaches).
What do I do if I believe I am a victim of Identity Theft? What do I do if I believe my information is compromised?
We currently have no knowledge that your information has been accessed or misused in any way. However, if you ever believe you have been the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your information is being misused, there are some actions you could take:
- Report the incident to local police if the matter involved a theft/crime.
- Report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501) if the matter involved a scam or fraud.
- Contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta Toll-free: 1-888-878-4044.
- They may recommend that you fill out an Identity Theft Statement, which can be used to notify financial institutions and other companies that you have been a victim of identity theft.
- Advise your bank and credit card companies.
- Seek a copy of your credit report and review it.
What Can I do to Protect Myself?
Monitor your Mail, Financial Accounts and Statements
It is important to always monitor your bank statements and credit card bills for any suspicious activity or purchases, and be aware of your billing cycles. Be sure to report any strange activities in your bills and statements to your financial institution or billing company right away, however minor. Fraudsters often steal in small amounts from many cards or accounts to evade detection.
Regularly Review your Credit Report
If your financial information was present on the affected servers, CSC has arranged a subscription to a credit monitoring service, at no cost to you. This service will notify you by email of critical changes to your credit report. Should you receive an email alert, you can review and validate the reported change by logging into a portal. This allows you to identify any potentially fraudulent activity on your credit report.
For individuals whose financial information was not present on the affected servers, there are two agencies in Canada that are responsible for producing credit checks: Equifax and TransUnion Canada. Credit reports will tell you what information a credit bureau has about your credit history, financial information, collection activity and who has asked for your information.
Nothing in your credit check file should surprise you; your credit history and personal information should be familiar. If anything in your credit report is inaccurate or not familiar, it may be a sign that an identity thief is using your personal information. Follow up if a lender or credit card issuer has asked for a report and you haven’t applied for credit or a card from them. Someone else may be using your name. If you discover incorrect information on your file, Alberta’s Consumer Protection Act gives you the right to have the information corrected.
Consider Putting an Alert on your Credit Report
It is possible to pay a small fee to one of the consumer reporting agencies to put an alert on your credit report. This alerts any entities checking your credit that they must take reasonable steps to ensure they are dealing with you, and not an identity thief.
References
- https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/sin/protect.html#a5
- https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-avoid-or-recover-identity-theft
- https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/protect-protegez-eng.htm
- https://www.ontario.ca/page/credit-reports#section-4
- https://www.alberta.ca/identity-theft.aspx
- https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/identities/identity-theft/guide_idt/
Fraud occurs when criminals use stolen personal information, including financial information, to commit another crime. For example, stolen financial information may be used to access or open a bank account, apply for loans or credit or apply for and receive government benefits.
What do I do if I believe I am a victim of fraud?
We currently have no knowledge that information involved in this incident has been accessed or misused in any way. However, if you believe you have been the victim of fraud, here are actions you could take to address the situation.
- Report the incident to local police if the matter involves a theft/crime.
- Report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (1-888-495-8501) when the matter involves a scam or fraud.
- Advise your bank and credit card companies.
- Seek a copy of your credit report and review it.
What do I do if I believe my SIN number is being used fraudulently?
It is recommended that you notify Service Canada immediately at 1-800-206-7218.
What Can I do to Protect Myself?
Monitor your Mail, Financial Accounts and Statements
It is important to always monitor your bank statements and credit card bills for any suspicious activity or purchases, and be aware of your billing cycles. Be sure to report any strange activities in your bills and statements to your financial institution or billing company right away, however minor. Fraudsters often steal in small amounts from many cards or accounts to evade detection.
Do Your Research
Always verify that an organization is legitimate before you take any action or provide them with personal information, including:
- Verifying Canadian charities with the Canada Revenue Agency;
- Looking online for contact information for the company that supposedly contacted you, and calling them back to confirm;
- Verifying calls from your credit card company or financial institution by contacting them directly.
Be on the lookout for fake or deceptive ads, or spoofed emails. Always verify the company and its services are real before you provide them with any information.
Be Cyber Savvy
To prevent potential fraud, it is recommended that you create strong passwords for every account. Consider Canada’s Anti-Fraud Centres’ password protection guidelines:
- Use combination passphrases that are easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess
- Create unique passwords for every online account including social networks, emails, financial and other accounts
- Don't post personal information over social media.
Regularly Review Your Credit Report
If your financial information was present on the affected servers, CSC has arranged a subscription to a credit monitoring service, at no cost to you. This service will notify you by email of critical changes to your credit report. Should you receive an email alert, you can review and validate the reported change by logging into a portal. This allows you to identify any potentially fraudulent activity on your credit report.
For those whose financial information was not present on the affected servers, there are two agencies in Canada that are responsible for producing credit checks: Equifax and TransUnion Canada. Credit reports will tell you what information a credit bureau has about your credit history, financial information, collection activity and who has asked for your information.
Nothing in your credit check file should surprise you; your credit history and personal information should be familiar. If anything in your credit report is inaccurate or not familiar, it may be a sign that an identity thief is using your personal information. Follow up if a lender or credit card issuer has asked for a report and you haven’t applied for credit or a card from them. Someone else may be using your name. If you discover incorrect information on your file, Alberta’s Consumer Protection Act gives you the right to have the information corrected.
References
- https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/sin/protect.html#a5
- https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/protect-protegez-eng.htm
- https://www.ontario.ca/page/credit-reports#section-4
- https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/en/secure-your-accounts
We want you to be able to connect with us if you have questions and concerns about this incident.
We invite you to join us for an open house on Thursday, November 5, and Thursday, November 12, at 7 p.m. at Central Campus or via Zoom.
Click here to attend in person or online
Alternatively, you can contact our privacy officer at .
Once again, there is currently no evidence that your personal information was accessed as a result of this incident. Out of an abundance of caution, we want to notify you of this attack so that you are able to assess the situation and take any precautionary steps that you deem necessary.
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