Rep. Jarrells Announces Free Credit Monitoring Services for Columbus Residents Following Cyber Attack on City

COLUMBUS - State Rep. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) today announces the City of Columbus will be offering free credit monitoring for two years through Experian, including $1M of fraud and identity theft protection.

"I encourage all Columbus residents to take advantage of this free service," said Rep. Jarrells. "Whether you were directly impacted by this breach or not, this valuable tool will continue to monitor activity and catch any fraudulent activity before it is too late."

This opportunity stems from a cyber threat in the city's IT infrastructure starting July 18, when the ransomware group Rhysida hacked into the city's servers and were able to access roughly 3.1 terabytes of private data, which was later dumped on the dark web. The city has since resecured its data, and an investigation is underway.

Other ways to protect your personal information include frequently changing your passwords, monitoring your bank accounts and credit cards, and requesting a free credit report and reviewing it for fraudulent activity. Additionally, avoid clicking on unknown links in emails, and do not give out personal information over the phone.

Those interested can sign up at www.columbus.gov/cyber, or call 1-833-918-5161 using the code B129832. The deadline to sign up is Friday, November 29, 2024.