Customer information about a mybart.org data breach

Today myBART.org account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into the myBART system. In response to this intrusion, we have temporarily shut down the myBART.org website, and have notified law enforcement authorities.

Although we are still investigating the details of this incident, we know that an unauthorized person has obtained contact information from at least 2,400 of our 55,000 members.  In most cases, the information consists of names, email addresses, and passwords.  In some cases, the database also listed an address and phone number. No financial information is stored in the myBART database.

For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information. Also, if you use your myBART user name or password for other unrelated services or accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them.

 To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and to monitor your credit reports. We are providing the following information for those who wish to consider it: – U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.

 We have also provided names and contact information for the three major U.S. credit bureaus below. At no charge, U.S. residents can have these credit bureaus place a “fraud alert” on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. This service can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. Note, however, that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your identity. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report, please contact the agencies listed below:

Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com;
P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013

Equifax: 800-525-6285; www.equifax.com;
P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

TransUnion: 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com;
Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

You may wish contact the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect yourself from identity theft or view the material at this Justice Department website.  Your state Attorney General may also have advice on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General, and the FTC.

We are sorry this intrusion into the myBART data occurred and we notified those affected right away in case anyone tries to exploit the information. We will provide an update as soon as we have additional information.

Updated Aug. 29, 2012, with new link for DOJ website.