The following is part of the notice Village Senior Services Corporation d/b/a VillageCareMAX posted on their website. Note that the attacker was apparently requesting names and Medicaid ID numbers, which makes me wonder what the plan for misuse was — insurance fraud, perhaps?
VillageCareMAX (“VCMAX”) is providing notice of an incident that may affect the security of certain personal information relating to current and former VCMAX managed care plan members.
What Happened? On or about Monday, December 30, 2019, VCMAX was alerted to a suspicious email received by an employee from an unauthorized actor pretending to be a member of the executive team. The unauthorized actor requested certain information related to VCMAX plan members. Believing the request to be legitimate, the employee provided the information. Once it became apparent that the email received by the employee was not a legitimate request, we immediately launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party forensic specialists to determine the full scope of this event. At this time, we are unaware of any actual misuse of the personal information as a result of this event.
What Information Was Involved? The information potentially impacted by this event included first and last name and Medicaid ID number for a limited number of VCMAX members.
What is VillageCareMAX Doing? We take this incident and security of personal information in our care seriously. We moved quickly to investigate and respond to this incident, assess the security of relevant VCMAX systems, and notify potentially affected individuals. This response included reviewing and enhancing our existing policies and procedures. We reported this incident to law enforcement and regulatory authorities. VCMAX is also notifying potentially impacted individuals so that they may take further steps to protect their information, should they feel it is appropriate to do so.
What Can Impacted Individuals Do? We have established a dedicated assistance line for individuals seeking additional information regarding this incident. Individuals seeking additional information may call our toll-free assistance line at 1-844-902-2024. This toll-free line is available from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. Individuals may also write to us at 120 Broadway, Suite 2840, New York, NY 10271 or email [email protected] with questions. Potentially affected individuals may also consider the information and resources outlined below.
The incident was reported to HHS on January 24th as impacting 2645 plan members. You can read the remainder of the health plan’s notice on their website.
In addition to this notification to HHS, Village Center for Care d/b/a VillageCare Rehabilitative and Nursing Center reported separately as a healthcare provider that 674 patients were impacted by what appears to be the same incident. In their case, the types of information involved included:
first and last names and the following data elements: date of birth and medical insurance information including provider name and ID number for a limited number of VCRN patients.