In the Scam of the day for October 10, 2023 I told you that the genetic testing company 23andMe had suffered a data breach that compromised genetic and ancestry data of 6.9 million of its users and the apparent hackers had already offered for sale what they say is the stolen information on the Dark Web, that part of the Internet where criminals buy and sell goods and services. A class action related to the data breach has been settled and victims of the data breach who suffered hardships as a result of their information being stolen can file for benefits as high as $10,000. Residents of Alaska,California, Illinois and Oregon whose information was compromised can apply for cash payments of around $100 pursuant to those states’ genetic privcy laws. Others whose personal health information was compromised can also appky for benefits. The settlement also provides for security monitoring services including dark web monitoring.
For more information and to file a claim electronically you can go to the official claims website here https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/23andme/EPOC-Index Claims must be submitted no later than July 14th.
TIPS
Following the data breach settlement and the resignation of its directors, the company filed for bankruptcy and was sold. But what does that mean to the security of your personal information? The genetic information held by 23andMe is not subject to the HIPAA medical privacy rules which protects patient information. I think the best course of action is to delete your account and personal information with 23andMe. Here are the steps you need to take to do so.
- Consumers can delete their account and personal information by taking the following steps:
- Log into your 23andMe account on their website.
- Go to the “Settings” section of your profile.
- Scroll to a section labeled “23andMe Data” at the bottom of the page.
- Click “View” next to “23andMe Data”
- Download your data: If you want a copy of your genetic data for personal storage, choose the option to download it to your device before proceeding.
- Scroll to the “Delete Data” section.
- Click “Permanently Delete Data.”
- Confirm your request: You’ll receive an email from 23andMe; follow the link in the email to confirm your deletion request.
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