FAQ's

Summary of what happened
CORE removed a document from its Web site on July 16, 2008, when it discovered that the document contained Social Security numbers belonging to about 490 individuals—primarily physicians—who had provided academic programming for the consortium.

Within one week of learning about the error, CORE has undertaken the following to assist those whose information was exposed: published an informational Web site (www.ohiocore.org/answers); set up a CORE Response Center with a toll-free call-in number (866-437-8698); and offered credit monitoring service for one year. Notification letters went out on July 23, 2008, to all the individuals affected.

Sign up for credit monitoring
CORE has made arrangements to extend to those whose Social Security numbers appeared online a one-year subscription to Equifax credit watch service at our expense. To sign up for this service, please send an email to COREanswers@oucom.ohiou.edu any time between now and Oct. 1. Your email should contain a request for an account and the e-mail address to which you want the account sign-up instructions sent. You may also include your phone number, in case there are questions.

Learn more about protecting your identity
Here are two U.S. government-sponsored Web sites that provide education for consumers on how to protect identity.

• OnGaurd Online
  http://onguardonline.gov
  “OnGuardOnline.gov provides practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be on guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information.”

• The Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft Web Site
  www.ftc.gov/idtheft
  This is the FTC’s consumer protection web site to “help you learn the steps to Deter, Detect and Defend against identity theft.”