COLUMBIA — South Carolina taxpayers affected by the information security data breach at the South Carolina Department of Revenue now have until March 31, 2013, to sign up for a year of free credit monitoring and unlimited fraud resolution provided by Experian.
The deadline to sign up for monitoring and fraud resolution had been January 31, 2013.

Governor Nikki Haley reiterated that anyone who has filed a South Carolina tax return since 1998 should take the following steps:

• Call 1-866-578-5422 to enroll in a consumer protection service. (The call center is open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. EST on Monday through Friday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. EST on Saturday and Sunday.)

• For any South Carolina taxpayer who wishes to bypass the telephone option, there currently is an online service available at http://www.protectmyid.com/scdor. Enter the code SCDOR123 when prompted.

Experian’s ProtectMyID Alert is designed to detect, protect and resolve potential identity theft, and includes daily monitoring of all three credit bureaus. The alerts and daily monitoring services are provided for one year, and consumers will continue to have access to fraud resolution agents and services beyond the first year.  Complimentary 12-month ProtectMyID memberships available to South Carolina taxpayers affected by the DOR information security breach include:

• Credit Report: A free copy of your Experian credit report.

• Daily Three-Bureau Credit Monitoring: Alerts you of suspicious activity including new inquiries, newly opened accounts, delinquencies, or medical collections found on your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit reports.

• Identity Theft Resolution: If you have been a victim of identity theft, you will be assigned a dedicated, U.S.-based Experian Identity Theft Resolution Agent who will walk you through the fraud resolution process, from start to finish.

• ExtendCARE: Full access to the same personalized assistance from a highly-trained Fraud Resolution Agent even after your initial ProtectMyID membership expires.

• $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance: As a ProtectMyID member, you are immediately covered by a $1 Million insurance policy that can help you cover certain costs including, lost wages, private investigator fees, and unauthorized electronic fund transfers.

As of last Thursday, there had been 957,575 signups for Experian’s ProtectMyID program. Access to unlimited fraud resolution beyond the one year enrollment period is included in Experian’s ProtectMyID membership. Taxpayers who sign up for protection will also be notified — by email or letter — about how to sign up for a “Family Secure Plan” if they claim minors as dependents.

Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp offers South Carolina businesses that have filed a tax return since 1998 a CreditAlert product that will alert customers to changes taking place in their business credit file. Even something as simple as a change to a business address or a company officer change would set off an alert to the business owner. The cost will be waived for business filing tax returns since 1998. Business owners can visit http://www.dandb.com/sc/ or they can call customer service toll free at this dedicated phone number 1-800-279-9881.

Experian offers those impacted South Carolina businesses Business Credit AdvantageSM — a self-monitoring service that allows access to a company’s business credit report and score. South Carolina businesses can sign up for Business Credit AdvantageSM at http://www.smartbusinessreports.com/SouthCarolina