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SALT LAJKE CITY — Many Utahns are not taking advantage of free credit monitoring services they received after hackers stole Social Security numbers and health records from hundreds of thousands of residents. Some are scared, others fall through a loophole.
Only 10,000 victims have activated their code for the service even though the Utah Department of Health has offered the service to about 275,000 people who had their Social Security numbers stolen.
Once you've given out your personal information to somebody and then there's a problem and you find out it's been stolen and then you're asked for more personal information to try to fix the situation, you're naturally going to be a little gun shy," said Jason Cooke with the Utah Health Policy Project.
But Julie Slack isn't gun shy. She wants to access the free service for her 17-year-old daughter but can't because she's a few months shy of her 18th birthday.
- Online at www.health.utah.gov
- Additional updates and information on how to protect credit information are available at www.health.utah.gov/databreach
"Utah Department of Health has told me that these kids are falling through the cracks," Slack said.
Some victims fall into a problematic under-18 category because credit bureaus don't monitor credit activity until the age of 18.
We've talked to a lot of those individuals over the phone and we're trying to work out a solution for them," said Tom Hudachko with UDOH.
The health department urges all victims to call if they have questions.
