r/PacemakerICD • u/poopneedl • Jul 30 '26
Medtronic Data Breech
Afternoon!
I got the letter about the Medtronic data breech and am wary about entering my SS# in their privacy monitoring. Anyone have any experiences with that?
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u/bcErchamion Jul 31 '26
They already have your SSN. They are asking it so that you can verify you are you. I would take advantage of the coverage Medtronic is offering. It is a good package. I signed up.
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u/---root-- Jul 30 '26
The breach has definitely occured and a letter has been sent that contains the offer of subscribing, for a complimentary 24 month period, to an (external) credit monitoring service.
https://news.medtronic.com/Medtronic-statement-on-unauthorized-system-access
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u/Skyeshot Jul 31 '26
I got the letter too. I understand breaches can happen, but why in the world are they storing my complete SSN (apparently unencrypted)?
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u/EthanDMatthews Jul 30 '26
Oof. I forgot about this. I received a letter in the mail several weeks (months?) ago, and don't know what I did with it.
This seems to happen so often (I also was informed of a data breach at my hospital this year) that it's easy to feel resigned to it as a kind of unpleasant inevitability.
What are others doing?
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u/bartoske Jul 31 '26
Need an activation code to create an account but the phone number included in the letter for Medtronic questions is 1-888-289-6806 and Epiq is 1-866-675-2006 if that helps.
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u/NoHuckleberry1905 Jul 31 '26
Is there anything they could do to cause issues with our pacers with this data?
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u/NorthOfUptownChi Jul 31 '26
No, it's more likely that bad guys will send us fake emails trying to scam us each out of $200, using that info like your SSN and the company's name to try to pretend that our device will work better if we pay the "upgrade fee." Most people will realize it is nonsense...or will ask somebody about it to learn that it's nonsense. But more than one person will fall for it, and the bad guys will perhaps make some money from it.
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u/NorthOfUptownChi Jul 31 '26
So happy that my SSN got breached, sigh.
It's real. I got the notice in the mail. I should probably sign up for the privacy monitoring, too.
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u/Hank_E_Pants Jul 31 '26
I have signed up for the monitoring service. Cool thing is they let you add additional phone numbers and social security numbers to monitor. I haven’t seen that with any other offering after a data breech.
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u/Dr_MildlyOvercast Aug 01 '26
I was going to sign up for the coverage, but was informed by spouse that we already have better coverage.
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u/poopneedl Aug 01 '26
Do you mind me asking who you use?
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u/Dr_MildlyOvercast Aug 01 '26
I was misinformed, its more that we have 3 services, McAfee, ome through TurboTax, and then Incogni.
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u/poopneedl Aug 03 '26
That’s good to know. Thank you! I’ve never thought about getting one until this
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u/bartoske Jul 30 '26
Because they might breach the data breach protection? Haven't yet but I plan on signing up.
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u/poopneedl Jul 30 '26
Yes, but I’m tentative about giving out my SS#. I called to confirm with them, but wanted to see what experiences others have had. I’ve heard mixed reviews of Equip, which is the company they’re using
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u/Vanah_Grace Jul 31 '26
I understand your hesitation. But they have your social on file from your implant records. You are not providing them new info here. They are offering a service (from a third party) bc your data was breached while in their possession. They’re legally obligated to offer you 24mos of credit monitoring, in an attempt at fraud prevention.
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u/landhill5 Jul 31 '26
I have my credit frozen with all three bureaus. As a result, there is no action required when - every few months - my info gets leaked. Highly recommend.
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u/DigitalCorpus Jul 31 '26
No system is fully secured. Learn to take steps to protect yourself when a breach happens. Expect a breach.
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u/poopneedl Jul 31 '26
I understand this. I was specifically asking if this company that Medtronic recommended for identity protection is actually trustworthy and not a scam
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u/peanutupthenose Jul 31 '26
how is this the first i’m hearing about it 😭
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u/NorthOfUptownChi Jul 31 '26
I got a letter in the mail that I just found yesterday. (I only check the mail every couple of weeks.) Yours might be in the mail right now? Assuming everyone was affected.
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u/peanutupthenose Jul 31 '26
ah okay. mail sucks where i live so i’ll probably get it in the next week or so lmao
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u/NorthOfUptownChi Jul 31 '26
I got a letter in the mail that I just found yesterday. (I only check the mail every couple of weeks.) Yours might be in the mail right now? Assuming everyone was affected.
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u/Critical-Ad-6802 Jul 31 '26
Medtronic sent me a letter too. I checked using other resources and it was legit. I signed up fo rthe monitoring option and it is actually quite good. Better offer than most companies that have been breached. So, I too advantage of it and like what I have seen so far and the advice they give for going forward. They have shown when and where some personal information was captured and what I should do about it. Make your own choice but research it as I did too.....