(Toledo News Now) - Major retailer Giant Eagle faced a security breach. It affects current and past employees.
The problem was with Giant Eagle's team member portal called My HR Connection. Company leaders were recently made aware that while logged in, it was possible to see other employee names and social security numbers.
There is no evidence of any identity fraud, theft or other harmful activity. Giant Eagle is notifying current and past employees by mail. They are letting them know about the problem and offering free credit monitoring for a year.
Giant Eagle says financial or other personally identifiable information was not able to be viewed, only the social security numbers. The problem was resolved on May 27.
• Check your credit card and debit card accounts regularly. Monitor your accounts to look for suspicious activity, such as charges you don't remember making. If you find any errors, immediately notify your credit or debit card provider.
• Place an initial fraud alert on your credit report. Contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies — Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion — to place an initial fraud alert, which will stay on your credit report for 90 days. The alert is free of charge and will make it more difficult for someone to open credit in your name.
• Consider placing a security freeze on your credit report. A security freeze essentially puts a lock on your credit so that most third parties can't access your report. This will help protect you from unauthorized accounts being opened in your name. In Ohio, security freezes are permanent until you lift them. There is a $5 fee per credit reporting agency to place the freeze and to remove it each time you apply for credit. Contact each credit reporting agency to place or to learn more about a security freeze.
• Check your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com. You are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. You can pull all three at once, or you can stagger pulling your reports throughout the year.
• If you are the victim of identity theft, contact the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
