Heart ‘n Home Hospice Identifies and Addresses Email Phishing Incident
FRUITLAND, Idaho, Jan. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Heart ‘n Home Hospice today announced that it is mailing letters to patients whose information may have been involved in an email phishing incident.
On November 9, 2021, Heart ‘n Home Hospice determined that an email phishing incident may have resulted in unauthorized access to emails and attachments containing patient information in a Heart ‘n Home Hospice employee’s email account. Heart ‘n Home Hospice first became aware of the incident when it was notified that suspicious emails had been sent from a Heart ‘n Home Hospice employee’s email account without her knowledge. Upon learning of this, Heart ‘n Home Hospice secured the account and launched an investigation. Heart ‘n Home Hospice’s investigation determined that an unauthorized party accessed one Heart ‘n Home Hospice employee’s email account between October 12, 2021, and October 14, 2021.
Based on the investigation, the likely purpose of the unauthorized access to the email account was to perpetrate an email phishing scheme, not to access personal information. That said, Heart ‘n Home Hospice cannot rule out the possibility that emails and attachments in the employee’s email account may have been viewed or accessed as a result of this incident.
Thus, out of an abundance of caution, Heart ‘n Home Hospice conducted a comprehensive search of the contents of the employee’s email account. Through this search, Heart ‘n Home Hospice determined that emails or attachments in the employee’s email account that may have been subject to unauthorized access contained information pertaining to certain patients, including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and/or information regarding the care they received at Heart ‘n Home Hospice.
On January 7, 2022, Heart ‘n Home Hospice began mailing letters to individuals whose information may have been involved in the incident. Heart ‘n Home Hospice has also established a toll-free, dedicated incident response line to answer questions that individuals may have. If individuals have questions, they should call 1-888-603-2204, Monday through Friday, between 6:00 am and 3:00 pm, Pacific Time.
Heart ‘n Home Hospice recommends that notified individuals review the statements they receive from their healthcare providers and health insurance plan. If they see any services that were not received, they should contact the provider or health plan immediately. Heart ‘n Home Hospice also reminds notified individuals to remain vigilant to the possibility of fraud by reviewing their financial statements for any unauthorized activity. If they identify any unauthorized activity, they should contact their financial institution immediately.
Heart ‘n Home Hospice deeply regrets any inconvenience or concern this may cause its patients and their families. To help prevent something like this from happening again, Heart ‘n Home Hospice has implemented additional safeguards and technical security measures.
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SOURCE Heart ‘n Home Hospice
