Equifax Data Breach

Recently, Equifax, one of the three national consumer credit reporting agencies, announced a major data breach. This breach affects approximately 143 million Americans. This is what we know according to Equifax: the date breach occurred May – July 2017, and the information stolen includes consumers’ personally identifiable information, including names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and, in some cases, driver’s license numbers. Approximately 209,000 credit card numbers and dispute documents with personally identifiable information for approximately 182,000 consumers were also stolen. There is no evidence of unauthorized access to consumers’ credit reporting databases.

To be clear, Palmetto State Bank was not compromised and your information was not stolen from our bank. However, Palmetto State Bank takes the security of our customers information very seriously, and we are providing you with the information we know about this massive breach and the steps you can take to protect your personally identifiable information if you so desire. Following this unprecedented breach, we are also asking our customers to be extra vigilant and report any suspicious activity in your Palmetto State Bank accounts to Palmetto State Bank by calling 803-943-2671 or visiting www.palmettostatebank.com. Equifax has established a website that informs consumers if they may be affected by the breach, provides additional information on the breach, and offers complimentary identify theft protection and credit file monitoring. This information is available at www.equifaxsecurity2017.com. To protect your identity and personals information, Palmetto State Bank strongly encourages our customers to take the actions noted below.

If you believe you are the victim of identity theft, contact your local law enforcement office and/or your state attorney general. Finally, you may also want to consider reviewing information about recovering from identify theft, which is available from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at https://www.identitytheft.gov or by calling 1-877-IDTHEFT (1-877-438-4338). The FTC also offers general information to protect your online presence at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/privacy-identity-online-security. Equifax has established a dedicated toll-free number to answer questions you may have about the Equifax data breach and its effect on your personally identifiable information. You may call them at 1-866-447-7559.