News and Events
Protect yourself against identity theft
November 2, 2012
Protect yourself against identity theft
In October, the S.C. Department of Revenue learned that its records were breached in a criminal cyber attack. As a result, anyone who has paid SC taxes since 1998 may have had his or her personal information compromised.
S.C. individual taxpayers should do the following by Jan. 31, 2013:
- Visit www.ProtectMyID.com/SCDOR (code SCDOR123) or call 1-866-578-5422 (M-F 9am-9pm EST; S-S 11am-8pm EST) to enroll for one year of identity theft protection.
S.C. business owners should do one or both of the following by Jan. 31, 2013:
- Visit www.DandB.com/SC or call 1-800-279-9881 (M-F 8am-8pm EST) to register for lifetime credit alert protection.
- Visit www.SmartBusinessReports.com/SouthCarolina to register for lifetime business credit monitoring.
All services are free of charge. For more information, please contact the SC Department of Consumer Affairs at 1-800-922-1594 or visit www.consumer.sc.gov.
S.C. DOR last week announced that approximately 3.6 million Social Security numbers and 387,000 credit and debit card numbers had been exposed in a cyber attack, and state officials said Wednesday that information from up to 657,000 businesses was also exposed.
As of Friday morning, the Experian call center set up to assist South Carolina taxpayers had received approximately 665,000 calls and approximately 561,000 signups for Experian’s ProtectMyID program. Access to unlimited fraud resolution beyond the one year enrollment period is included in Experian’s ProtectMyID membership and available to any taxpayer affected by DOR’s information security breach. Taxpayers who sign up for protection will also be notified – by email or letter – about how to sign up for a “Family Secure Plan” if they claim minors as dependents.
Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp offers South Carolina businesses that have filed a tax return since 1998 a CreditAlert product that will alert customers to changes taking place in their business credit file. Even something as simple as a change to a business address or a company officer change would set off an alert to the business owner. The cost will be waived for business filing tax returns since 1998. Business owners can visit http://www.dandb.com/sc/ or they can call customer service toll free at this dedicated phone number 1-800-279-9881.
Experian is offering those impacted South Carolina businesses Business Credit AdvantageSM - a self-monitoring service that allows unlimited access to a company’s business credit report and score. Beginning Thursday, South Carolina businesses can sign up for Business Credit AdvantageSM at http://www.smartbusinessreports.com/SouthCarolina.
Gov. Haley reiterated that anyone who has filed a South Carolina tax return since 1998 should take the following steps:
- Call 1-866-578-5422 to enroll in a consumer protection service. (The call center is open 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM EST on Monday through Friday and 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM EST on Saturday and Sunday.)
- For any South Carolina taxpayer who wishes to bypass the telephone option, there currently is an online service available at http://www.protectmyid.com/scdor. Enter the code SCDOR123 when prompted. South Carolina taxpayers have until the end of January, 2013 to sign up.
Experian’s ProtectMyID™ Alert is designed to detect, protect and resolve potential identity theft, and includes daily monitoring of all three credit bureaus. The alerts and daily monitoring services are provided for one year, and consumers will continue to have access to fraud resolution agents and services beyond the first year. Complimentary 12-month ProtectMyID memberships available to South Carolina taxpayers affected by the DOR information security breach include:
- Credit Report: A free copy of your Experian credit report.
- Daily 3 Bureau Credit Monitoring: Alerts you of suspicious activity including new inquiries, newly opened accounts, delinquencies, or medical collections found on your Experian, Equifax® and TransUnion® credit reports.
- Identity Theft Resolution: If you have been a victim of identity theft, you will be assigned a dedicated, U.S.-based Experian Identity Theft Resolution Agent who will walk you through the fraud resolution process, from start to finish.
- ExtendCARE: Full access to the same personalized assistance from a highly-trained Fraud Resolution Agent even after your initial ProtectMyID membership expires.
- $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance: As a ProtectMyID member, you are immediately covered by a $1 Million insurance policy that can help you cover certain costs including, lost wages, private investigator fees, and unauthorized electronic fund transfers.
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Rob Godfrey
Office of Gov. Nikki Haley
O: (803) 734-5074 | C: (803) 429-5086
Beware of Bill Payment Scam
July 9, 2012
Warning: new scam luring cooperative members
A new telephone scam is luring cooperative members to give out personal information. The scam tells members that President Obama has authorized the federal government to pay their electric bill if they use a specific bank routing number and their social security number.
The scam is quickly spreading across the nation as electric bills begin to rise due to summer temperatures. Cooperative members are most likely to get contacted through phone calls, text messages or social media.
Members who completed the process outlined in the scam do not immediately realize their payment has not actually been posted to their utility account. This results in the possibility of their electric service being cutoff due to non-payment.
“We urge our members to guard their personal accounting and banking information and never share this information with family, friends or strangers. “We also want to assure our members that all Little River Electric Cooperative payment systems are secure and have not been breached.”
Little River Electric Cooperative will never call its members to solicit personal information. We encourage members to ignore suspicious attempts to solicit personal information, such as banking information and social security numbers, and to call the police if a member feels they have been a victim of a crime. Additionally, members can report suspicious activity by calling the Department of Consumer Affairs at 803-734-4200.
Co-op Connections Card Adds More Savings
May 15, 2012
Little River Electric Cooperative's Co-op Connections® Program is now saving you even more. The card that offers discounts at local merchants and has saved consumers thousands of dollars on prescriptions now offers members significant savings on lab and imaging services, chiropractic, dental, vision and hearing care.
The new Healthy Savings package is available at no cost to members who print paper cards from www.healthysavings.coop and show it at participating providers along with their plastic cards. This brand-new benefit is part of a commitment to helping members save money during challenging economic times.
To locate providers that participate in the Healthy Savings program, call 1 (800) 800-7616 with your card handy or visit www.healthysavings.coop. Savings examples include 10 to 60 percent off eyeglasses, contact lenses and eye exams; 20 to 40 percent discounts on a range of dental care services; and30 percent off chiropractic treatments.
Many insurance plans do not include provisions for dental, hearing and vision care. With the new Healthy Savings package, Little River Electric members get no-cost access to five discounted health benefit areas: vision, dental, hearing, lab imaging and chiropractic care.
For a list of local, state and national discount with the Co-op Connections card, click here. (New discounts are added periodically.)
This is just one more way you benefit from being a cooperative member. As a Touchstone Energy cooperative, we are always “Looking out for you.” If you have any questions, please call Sue Burton, Executive Secretary/Staff Assistant at Little River Electric Cooperative, (864) 366-2141 or by e-mail at sburton@lreci.coop.
Little River Electric Cooperative is part of the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives brand, a nationwide alliance of more than 725 consumer-owned electric cooperatives dedicated to serving their members and communities with integrity, accountability, innovation and commitment to community.
