Turke & Strauss LLP, a leading data breach law firm, is investigating Advocates, Inc. regarding its recent breach. The Advocates data breach involved sensitive personal identifiable information and protected health information belonging to over 70,000 individuals.
ABOUT ADVOCATES, INC.:
Advocates is a non-profit organization operating in Massachusetts that provides a range of services for people experiencing life challenges. Advocates specializes in providing services for addiction, aging, mental health, intellectual health, behavioral health, brain injury, and autism as well as deaf services and adult family care. Founded in 1975, Advocates has eight locations in the Massachusetts area and has over 1,000 employees.
WHAT HAPPENED?
On October 1, 2021, Advocates discovered that it had experienced a data breach in which the sensitive personal identifiable information and protected health information in its system may have been accessed and acquired. Through an investigation, Advocates determined that an unknown actor gained access to this sensitive information and obtained data from Advocates’ network between September 14 and 18, 2021. In early 2022, Advocates began notifying individuals whose information may have been impacted. On June 28, 2022, Advocates provided additional notice to individuals signifying that more individuals likely needed notification that their personal identifiable information and protected health information may have been impacted. The type of information exposed includes:
- Name
- Social Security number
- Address
- Dates of birth
- Client identification number
- Health insurance information
- Medical diagnosis or treatment information
If you are a current or former patient of Advocates, Inc.:
We would like to speak with you about your rights and potential legal remedies in response to this data breach. Please fill out the form, below, or contact us at (608) 237-1775 or sam@turkestrauss.com.
If you were impacted by the Advocates data breach, you may consider taking the following steps to protect your personal information.
- Carefully review the breach notice and retain a copy;
- Enroll in the free credit monitoring service provided by Advocates, Inc.;
- Change passwords and security questions for online accounts;
- Regularly review account statements for signs of fraud or unauthorized activity;
- Monitor credit reports for signs of identity theft; and
- Contact a credit bureau(s) to request a temporary fraud alert.