The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) began mailing notification letters to 21.5 million individuals impacted by a federal data breach in October, alerting them their data was compromised and describing the identity protection services available for three years through ID Experts, which is a BBB Accredited Business out of Portland, Oregon.
The Better Business Bureau of North Alabama reminds you these notification letters will be sent through U.S. mail, not email.
The data breach included data submitted to request a security clearance. The data processed for a clearance includes family and people the applicant lives with regardless of relationship. Family includes spouse, children, parents and siblings.
You may receive a letter:
If you are a current, former or prospective government employee and your background investigation data was breached
If you are a spouse of a background investigation applicant
If you are a co-habitant of a background investigation applicant
Legitimate letters from the OPM will have a 25 digit PIN to register for credit and identity monitoring services. Recipients can go to https://www.opm.gov/cybersecurity to get more information and sign up for monitoring. If yours is a legitimate letter, then the PIN will work.
