CLEVELAND — According to the Federal Trade commission, scams that impersonate government agencies are consistently among the top frauds reported to its Consumer Sentinel Network.
It makes sense, then, that multiple 3News viewers reached out to us about a letter they received in the mail claiming to be from the U.S. Department of Justice talking about a data breach, offering services that you can sign up for. These viewers all asked us, "How do we know it's real?"
THE QUESTION
So let's VERIFY: Was there a data breach involving the DOJ, and did the department send out letters to people who might be affected?
SOURCES
We checked into this by:
- reviewing the letter sent to 3News viewers
- contacting the US Department of Justice
- calling Greylock McKinnon Associates (GMA)
EXPLANATION
The letter mentions that on May 30, 2023, DOJ contractor GMA was the target of a ransomware attack, and some of its files containing people's personal and Medicare information were copied.
We called GMA, and they told us there was a breach and that they had sent out their own letter to people affected, but they couldn't confirm anything about a letter claiming to be from the DOJ.
When we reached out to the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, which is listed as the sender of the letter. Deputy Director for the Office of Public Affairs with the U.S. Department of Justice Wyn Hornbuckle replied and told us this:
"The letter is legitimate and was sent by the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys.
"In May, Greylock McKinnon & Associates (GMA) notified the Department of Justice about the breach of personally identifiable information on GMA's systems, after which the Department required that Greylock identify those affected and immediately began its own process to address the breach."
THE ANSWER
So we can VERIFY that, yes, there was a data breach involving the U.S. Department of Justice, and the DOJ did send out letters to people who might be affected.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you got one of these letters, it's safe to follow the instructions included to sign up for free credit monitoring and get a copy of your credit report.
If you come across something that you're unsure about being true or false, you can send it to us to VERIFY by emailing us at verify@wkyc.com, or texting us at (216) 344-3300.