CHARLESTON FIRE DEPARTMENT

Notice of Email Incident

The Charleston Fire Department, like many organizations nationwide, recently experienced an email security incident. Privacy and security are of utmost importance; therefore, we are taking appropriate steps to notify and provide relief to those potentially impacted. Below, you can read more about the incident, our response, and steps you can take to protect your personal information.

Notice of Cyber Incident

The Charleston Fire Department (CFD) has unfortunately been the victim of an email security incident. This notice provides information about how this incident may have affected personal information and, as a preventative measure, provides steps that can be taken to protect such information.

What Happened?

On February 21, 2025, CFD became aware of spam emails originating from an EMS employee’s email account. We promptly took steps to secure our systems and engaged leading outside cybersecurity experts to assist with our investigation. These experts confirmed that a single employee’s email account had been subjected to unauthorized access beginning on February 18, 2025.

What Information Was Involved?

The affected mailbox contained limited information pertaining to ambulance trips and EMS billing. In particular, the following types of information may have been involved: name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, other demographic identifiers, clinical information such as diagnosis/conditions, medications, dates of services, and/or insurance information. Data impacted were not the same for everyone. For most people with data impacted, information was limited to names, date of services, insurance carriers (as applicable), and the amount billed for EMS treatment.

What We Are Doing

We take our obligation to safeguard personal information very seriously and are continuing to evaluate additional actions to strengthen our network security in the face of an ever-evolving cyber threat landscape.

On April 22, 2025, CFD mailed individuals believed to have had personal data on the email account a letter with information concerning this incident and an offer for free credit monitoring. If you have received treatment from Charleston EMS and did not receive a letter, but would still like to receive credit monitoring, please email us at CFD.Data.Notice@cityofcharleston.org.

Please review the “Additional Resources” section below. This section describes steps you can take to help protect yourself, including recommendations from the Federal Trade Commission regarding identity theft protection and details on placing a fraud alert or a security freeze on your credit file.

We appreciate your understanding and patience.

As a precautionary measure, we recommend that you remain vigilant by regularly reviewing and monitoring account statements and credit reports to detect potential errors or fraud and identity theft resulting from the security incident. You may periodically obtain your free credit report from one or more of the national credit reporting companies. You may obtain a free copy of your credit report online at www.annualcreditreport.com, by calling toll-free 1 877 322 8228, or by mailing an Annual Credit Report Request Form (available at www.annualcreditreport.com) to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. You may also purchase a copy of your credit report by contacting one or more of the three national credit reporting agencies listed below.

When you receive your credit reports, review them carefully. Look for accounts or creditor inquiries that you did not initiate or do not recognize. Look for inaccurate information, such as a home address and Social Security number. If you see anything you do not understand, call the credit reporting agency at the telephone number on the report.

You should promptly report any fraudulent activity or any suspected incidence of identity theft to proper law enforcement authorities, including local law enforcement, your state attorney general, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). To file a complaint with the FTC, use the below contact information or website.

Complaints filed with the FTC will be added to the FTC’s Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, which is a database made available to law enforcement agencies. If you detect any suspicious activity on an account, you should promptly notify the financial institution or company which the account is maintained.

You have the right to put a security freeze, also known as a credit freeze, on your credit file, so that no new credit can be opened in your name without the use of a Personal Identification Number (PIN) that is issued when you initiate a freeze. A credit freeze is designed to prevent potential creditors from accessing your credit report without your consent. If you place a credit freeze, potential creditors and other third parties will not be able to access your credit report unless you temporarily lift the freeze. Therefore, using a credit freeze may delay your ability to obtain credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on your credit report. Should you wish to place a credit freeze, please contact all three major consumer reporting agencies listed below.

You must separately place a credit freeze on your credit file at each credit reporting agency. The following information should be included when requesting a credit freeze:

1. Your full name, with middle initial and any suffixes;
2. Your Social Security number;
3. Your date of birth (month, day, and year);
4. Your current address and previous addresses for the past five (5) years;
5. A copy of your state-issued identification card (such as a state driver's license or military ID);
6. Proof of your current residential address (such as a current utility bill or account statement); and
7. Other personal information as required by the applicable credit reporting agency.

If you request a credit freeze online or by phone, then the credit reporting agencies have one (1) business day after receiving your request to place a credit freeze on your credit file report. If you request a lift of the credit freeze online or by phone, then the credit reporting agency must lift the freeze within one (1) hour. If you request a credit freeze or lift of a credit freeze by mail, then the credit agency must place or lift the credit freeze no later than three (3) business days after getting your request. More information regarding credit freezes can be obtained from the FTC and the major consumer reporting agencies.

You also have the right to place an initial or extended fraud alert on your file at no cost. An initial fraud alert will stay on your credit file one (1) year. The alert informs creditors of possible fraudulent activity within your report and requires the creditor to verify your 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 7 years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the three major consumer reporting agencies listed above. The agency you contact will then contact the other two. More information regarding fraud alerts can be obtained from the FTC and the major consumer reporting agencies.

If applicable to your situation, we recommend that you regularly review the explanation of benefits statement that you receive from your insurer. If you see any service that you believe you did not receive, please contact your insurer at the number on the statement. If you do not receive the regular explanation of benefits statements, contact your provider and request them to send such statements following the provision of services in your name or number. You may want to order copies of your credit reports and check for any bills that you do not recognize. If you find anything suspicious, call the credit reporting agency at the phone number on the report. Keep a copy of this notice for your records in case of future problems with your records.

You can obtain additional information and further educate yourself regarding identity theft and the steps you can take to protect yourself by contacting your state attorney general or the FTC. The FTC’s contact information and website for additional information is:

For Virginia residents: You may contact the Virginia Attorney General’s Office at 202 North Ninth Street, Richmond, VA 23219; 1-804-786-2071; or https://www.oag.state.va.us/contact-us/contact-info.

For Connecticut residents: You may contact the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General at 165 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106; 1-860-808-5318; or https://portal.ct.gov/ag.

For District of Columbia residents: You may contact the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia at 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 1-202-727-3400; or https://oag.dc.gov/consumer-protection/consumer-alert-online-privacy.

For Iowa residents: You may contact law enforcement or the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to report suspected incidents of identity theft. The Iowa Attorney General’s Office can be reached at 1305 E. Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50319; 1 515 281 5164; or www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov.

For Maryland residents: You may contact the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202; 410-576-6300; 1-888-743-0023 (toll free), or https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/contactus.aspx.

For Massachusetts residents: You may contact the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General at 1 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108; 1-617-727-8400; or https://www.mass.gov/orgs/office-of-the-attorney-general. You have the right to obtain a police report if you are a victim of identity theft.

For New Mexico residents: You have rights under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). These include, among others, the right to know what is in your credit file; to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information; and to have consumer reporting agencies correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. For more information about the FCRA, please visit https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf or ww.ftc.gov.

For New York residents: The 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/. You may also contact the Bureau of Internet and Technology (BIT) at 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10005; 212 416 8433; or https://ag.ny.gov/about/about-office/economic-justice-division#internet-technology.

For North Carolina residents: The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office may be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 919-716-6400; or https://ncdoj.gov/contact-doj/.

For Oregon residents: We encourage you to report suspected identity theft to the Oregon Attorney General at 1162 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301; 1 877 877 9392; 1 503 378 4400; or www.doj.state.or.us.

For Rhode Island residents: You may contact the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General at 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; 1-401-274-4400; or https://riag.ri.gov/. You have the right to obtain a police report if you are a victim of identity theft. No Rhode Island residents were impacted by this breach.