Anthem, Inc, which is associated with many health plans and services along with Blue Cross & Blue Shield, recently discovered a cyber attack gained access to their computers and obtained the personal information of consumers who do, or have had, Anthem or other independent plans administered by Blue Cross & Blue Shield over the last ten years. The information accessed may have included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health care ID numbers, home addresses, email addresses, and employment information, including data.
We believe persons who are affected by the Anthem data compromise may also experience problems with their current or past year IRS tax filings and other credit-related matters, as it is believed the personal information obtained from this type of data compromise could be used by the criminals to fraudulently obtain tax refunds and open lines of credit in the victim's name.
We recommend victims check with your local tax preparer, and file your tax return as soon as possible, especially if you are expecting a refund. This is so the return is filed before the criminals have a chance to do so.