NOTICE OF PRIVACY INCIDENT
Coos County Family Health Services (“Coos County”) is reporting a recent incident that may impact the information of some of its patients and personnel. Although Coos County presently has no evidence that any such information has been used to commit identity theft or fraud, Coos County is providing information about the incident, what it has done in response, and resources available to assist individuals in protecting their information, should they feel it is appropriate to do so.
What Happened? On July 9, 2025, Coos County became aware of suspicious activity related to its phone systems and servers. Coos County began an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the activity and took steps to secure its systems. The investigation determined that there was unauthorized access to the servers on July 9, 2025, during which an unauthorized party may have viewed or copied data. In an abundance of caution, Coos County reviewed the files that may have been impacted and is notifying individuals whose data was potentially in those files. Coos County will notify affected individuals identified through the review process and for whom it has address information via letter with additional information.
What Information Was Involved? The types of data that may have been present in the relevant files varies upon circumstances, but may have included a combination of certain individuals’ names, dates of birth, contact information, Social Security numbers, medical identification numbers and medical information.
For More Information. If you have additional questions or concerns, please email your questions to [email protected]. Additionally, you may write to Coos County by mail at 133 Pleasant Street, Berlin, NH 03570. A dedicated toll-free call center will be established to address further questions from impacted individuals once letters are mailed.
What We Are Doing. Coos County takes this event and the security of personal information in its care very seriously. In response to this incident, Coos County moved quickly to investigate and notify potentially affected individuals. As part of its ongoing commitment to the security of information, Coos County is reviewing and enhancing its existing policies and procedures. As an added precaution, Coos County is providing potentially impacted individuals with access to free credit monitoring and identity protection services provided by TransUnion. A description of services and instructions on how to enroll can be found within the letters mailed to these individuals. Please note that these individuals must complete the enrollment process on their own, as Coos County is not permitted to enroll them in these services on their behalf.
What You Can Do. Coos County encourages all potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant by reviewing account statements, monitoring free credit reports and Explanation of Benefits for suspicious activity, and to detect errors. 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 one-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 fraud alert or credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:
Equifax | Experian | TransUnion |
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/ | https://www.experian.com/help/ | https://www.transunion.com/data-breach-help |
1-888-298-0045 | 1-888-397-3742 | 1-833-799-5355 |
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348-5069 | Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 | TransUnion, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016 |
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348-5788 | Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013 | TransUnion, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094 |
Additional Information
Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state attorney general. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 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. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and state attorney general. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.
For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001; (202) 442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.
For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.
For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage consumers to review their rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov.
For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and www.ncdoj.gov.
For Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; www.riag.ri.gov; and 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event. The number of Rhode Island residents is currently unknown.