Does The USPS ‘Credit Monitoring Program’ provide enough protection for Postal Employees? | PostalReporter.com
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Does The USPS ‘Credit Monitoring Program’ provide enough protection for Postal Employees?

Posted on by postal

An article for PostalReporter  (PostalReporter.com contributed to this article)

On November 10, 2014, postal employees were notified of the USPS Data Breach. Now ten (10) days later postal employees are no closer  to finding out what happened, why it happened and why the two month delay in making  Postal Employees aware of the data breach.

The Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and the Census  Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on  November 19, 2014, regarding “Ensuring Data Security at the Postal Service.” Since there were thousands of Postal Employees and millions of customers affected by the USPS Data Breach, it was assumed that hearing would focus solely on the incident.  However, the hearing addressed “mail covers” as well as the data breach–although over 750,000 Postal Employees, retirees and other postal employees’ personal information had been compromised. Was this the proper time for the House GOP to talk about mail covers?

The USPS has implemented a paid one year Equifax credit monitoring program for all current, and some former employees. It appears that the Equifax credit monitoring  will only cover the employees’ credit records. After one year, postal employees are on their own to deal with any ramifications of the data breach. Postal Employees must purchase a copy of their credit report by contacting one of the three national credit reporting agencies.

What will be the real impact on the victims of this data breach and who are the unnamed/unknown victims no one seems to be talking about since it became known: Will the Equifax credit monitoring program provide enough protection?

Personal information of postal employees and some retired employees that may have been taken from the USPS’s information system are  social security numbers, dates of birth and addresses.

A Social Security number, date of birth and  address can open up your entire world – driver licenses, utilities, cell phone and landlines, IRS, TSP, bank accounts, Costco card, credit union accounts, medical records, credit reports or any record with your social security number, birth date or any record with their social security numbers and birth dates.

The data breach could also possibly affect people listed on your emergency  contact information and information on employees injury claim forms, which include the names of spouses, children and/or dependents.

USPS : “we are aware of a possible compromise of injury claim data that we are still investigating involving a small number of employees.”

The problems that can be caused by the data breach are the endless.

Does The USPS Monitoring Program Provide Enough Protection?

Placing a Consumer Reported Identity Theft Security alert in your ChexSystems consumer file

8 thoughts on “Does The USPS ‘Credit Monitoring Program’ provide enough protection for Postal Employees?”

  3. What do you expect when 80% if managment has no education, high school drop outs, and get picked for the job by whom they know. Most companies, city and states provided exams for promotion to get everyone a fair chance. This company is all whom you know not what you know.

  4. If anyone, and they shouldn’t have by now, had any doubt as to the fools, criminals, incompetents, and liars that infest USPS mgmt ranks, this should remove it.

    Tens of thousands of people’s very lives are at serious risk.

    And not one of the fools in mgmt. will ever be held accountable for this.

    *THAT* is the biggest crime.

  5. No.. It is not enough.

    I cannot change my name, SSN or date of birth. This data will be out and available FOREVER. Its not only a temporary use, it is permanent information. I will have to be on guard for the rest of my life. For the people affected, they need to offer LIFETIME active monitoring such as life-lock premium, not just a credit report monitoring service.

  6. What makes anyone think the USPS new anything. Once the light was turned on did you see the roaches run? This General has been an IDIOT from the beginning and has been surrounded by IDIOTS , so it only makes sense that the USPS keep the line of IDIOTS going. Maybe someone from outside who has business experience, not someone who came up from the ranks you Postal fools. If you don’t learn from your mistakes you keep repeating them. So hang on here we go again!!

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