Dean & Draper Insurance Agency, LP Provides Notice of Potential Data Event 

 
January 13, 2022 (Houston, TX) – Dean & Draper Insurance Agency, LP (“Dean & Draper”) is providing notice of a recent potential data event.
 
What Happened? On July 16, 2021, Dean & Draper became aware of suspicious activity regarding an employee email account. The Company immediately began an investigation to confirm the security of its network and to determine the nature and scope of this event. With the assistance of third-party forensic investigators, Dean & Draper learned it was the victim of unauthorized access to an employee email account; however, no other Company systems or information were impacted. Once the incident was contained, Dean & Draper, with the assistance of third-party forensic specialists, initiated a comprehensive review to identify any information of individuals contained in the impacted account potentially affected by the incident. On January 6, 2022, Dean & Draper concluded its extensive review of the potentially impacted data to identify potentially impacted individuals and to determine contact information to provide notification. 
 
What Information Was Involved? Since this incident was discovered, Dean & Draper has received no indication that any personal information in the email account has been misused by an unauthorized party. However, Dean & Draper is providing this notice to make people aware of the issue and the steps being taken in response. 
 
What We Are Doing. Dean & Draper is committed to, and takes very seriously, its responsibility to protect all data entrusted to us. We are continuously taking steps to enhance data security protections. As part of our incident response, we have continued ongoing efforts to enhance security controls and to implement additional controls, including continued and/or expanded use of multi-factor authentication, to help protect employee email accounts from unauthorized access. Further, Dean & Draper is notifying relevant regulatory authorities as required.
 
What You Can Do. Dean & Draper encourages you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and explanation of benefits and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity. You may also review and consider the information and resources outlined in the below “Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Personal Information.”
 
For More Information. To determine if you were impacted, please call 713-586-4322.
 
 

STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

Monitor Your Accounts
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, 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 credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:
 

Equifax
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/
888-298-0045
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788

Experian
https://www.experian.com/help/
1-888-397-3742
Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion 
https://www.transunion.com/credit-help
833-395-6938
TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094

 

Additional Information
You may further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 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. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.