SouthStar Bank, S.S.B. (“SouthStar Bank”) is notifying individuals of an incident that affects information relating to certain individuals. We take the security of information in our care seriously, and are providing you with this notice to make you aware of the incident, the steps we are taking in response, and steps you may take to help protect your personal information, should you feel it is appropriate to do so.
What Happened? On or about January 21, 2022, SouthStar Bank became aware that as a result of a third party software issue, customers were able to view certain limited transactions on the SouthStar online banking portal that were not associated with that customer. Upon discovery of this event, SouthStar Bank immediately launched an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the incident and remediate the issues. SouthStar Bank determined that transactions were viewable from January 20, 2022, to January 21, 2022. SouthStar Bank deleted the transaction images and remediated the problem so that they were no longer viewable. SouthStar Bank then began working on a comprehensive review to identify the full scope of information that was viewable. On February 24, 2022, we completed this review and determined that certain personal information was impacted by this event.
What Information Was Involved? While we are not aware of any actual misuse of any information, our review determined that the following types of your information were present in the viewable transactions and could have been accessed or acquired by an unauthorized individual: certain individuals’ names, financial account information and/or driver’s license numbers.
What We Are Doing. SouthStar Bank mailed notice letters to individuals for whom we have valid mailing addresses whose protected information was contained in the impacted transaction images. SouthStar Bank takes the confidentiality, privacy, and security of information in our care seriously. Upon discovery, we immediately commenced an investigation to confirm the nature and scope of the incident and remediate the issue. We reported this incident to state and industry regulators as required.
What You Can Do. You can review the below Steps You Can Take to Protect Personal Information. We also encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review your account statements, and to monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity.
For More Information. We understand that you may have questions about this incident that are not addressed in this notice. To ensure your questions are answered in a timely manner, please call (833) 514-1010, Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 10:00pm, Saturday and Sunday, 10:00am to 7:00pm, Central Time, excluding major U.S. Holidays. Additionally, you can write to us at SouthStar Bank, 100 South Main Street, Moulton, Texas 77975.
SouthStar Bank takes the privacy and security of the information in our care seriously. We sincerely regret any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause you.
Steps You Can Take to Protect Personal Information
Monitor Your Accounts
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:
- Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
- Social Security number;
- Date of birth;
- Addresses for the prior two to five years;
- Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
- A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
- 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 credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:
Equifax
www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/
888-298-0045
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788
Experian
www.experian.com/help/
1-888-397-3742
Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion
www.transunion.com/credit-help
833-395-6938
TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094
Additional Information
You may further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 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. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.
For Massachusetts residents, Under Massachusetts law, you have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this incident. If you are the victim of identity theft, you also have the right to file a police report and obtain a copy of it.
For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 1-202-727-3400; and oag@dc.gov.
For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-528-8662 or 1-888-743-0023; and www.oag.state.md.us.
For New Mexico residents, you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your 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 your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violators. You 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 you to review your 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; 1-401-274-4400. Under Rhode Island law, you have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this incident.
