The diocese says an unauthorized person may have compromised names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, tax ID numbers and other sensitive data.
CLEVELAND — The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland is warning parishioners after an “unauthorized party” gained access to an employee's email account that contained sensitive personal data of some parishioners and church contacts. I am instructing them to do so.
In an announcement on its website, the diocese said the employee's email account was accessed by an unauthorized individual between December 14, 2023 and January 12, 2024. The diocese discovered on March 14, 2024, that the breach included personal information.
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The diocese said the information stored in the email account included a full name and “one or more” of the following:
- date of birth
- social security number
- Taxpayer identification number
- Financial account information and security code
- routing number
- Driver's license number
- Health insurance information
- passport number
The diocese has not received any reports of identity fraud or data misuse “as a direct result of this incident.” The company said it contacted affected individuals who had contact information on file about the breach on April 17 “out of an abundance of caution.”
“Affected individuals should consider placing a fraud alert/security freeze on their credit files, obtaining a free credit report, and reviewing their financial account statements and credit reports for fraudulent or irregular activity. It is recommended that you take steps to protect yourself from identity theft, including staying on guard against identity theft “regularly,'' the diocese said. “Individuals whose Social Security numbers may have been affected are encouraged to enroll in the free credit monitoring services listed in the notification letter.
“We are committed to maintaining the privacy of the personal information we hold and take many precautions to protect it,” the diocese continued. “We continually evaluate and modify our practices and internal controls to enhance the security and privacy of personal information.”
The diocese has set up a toll-free hotline at 866-528-9250 for anyone with questions about the violation. The response line is staffed Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
“This response line is staffed with experts who are familiar with this case and knowledgeable about what can be done to prevent the information from being misused,” the diocese said.
The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland has provided a list of recommended actions and resources that individuals can use if they are concerned about possible fraud on their website.
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