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Deadline to sign up online for free credit monitoring is Dec. 31

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

Rice employees, students and retirees whose personal information was on a device that was stolen in late August have until Dec. 31 to sign up online for the free credit-monitoring service that Rice University is offering through TransUnion.

In the three months since the theft of the device, Rice police have not received any reports indicating that the personal information has been misused, but the university is offering the credit-monitoring service as a precaution.

More than 2,700 individuals are currently taking advantage of the complimentary credit monitoring. The free year of service includes up to $25,000 in identity theft insurance with no deductible. If a fraudulent account is opened with someone’s personal information, the employee/student/retiree will need to inform the credit card company or bank that the account was opened fraudulently. The financial institution should not hold them responsible for any fraudulent charges. The affected individual may be required to provide evidence of the identity theft by filling out an affidavit or filing a police report. If there are filing costs resulting from the affidavit and/or police report, the ID theft insurance will reimburse the individual for those fees.

You can register for the online credit monitoring service at www.transunionmonitoring.com through Dec. 31. You can also register for the offline, paper-based credit monitoring by phone at 800-242-5181 Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Central Time; however, the TransUnion office will be closed for New Year’s Eve on Dec. 31, so registration by phone must be completed by 6:30 p.m. Dec. 30. (The office will also be closed on Dec. 24 and 25.) You will need the 12-letter access code or six-digit telephone pass code that was assigned to you in a letter that Rice mailed in mid-September. If you misplaced your letter, contact Dan Fu at dan.fu@rice.edu or 713-348-6088.
 
The device that was taken in a random off-campus theft contained payroll and other information for approximately 7,250 Rice faculty and staff, including some students and retirees. One of the files contained a list of Rice employees and students on the Rice payroll as of January 2010, and it included names, addresses, birth dates, employee and student identification numbers, salaries and emergency contacts, but no Social Security numbers. Another file had Social Security numbers for more than half of the individuals listed, most of whom are current employees, plus former employees who were paid in 2008 or 2009. No bank account information was included, except for two employees, who were notified.

For more information, visit dru.rice.edu. You will need your Rice Net ID and password to access this protected site.