Insurance Company Mails Out Postcards With SSNs

It’s always nice when an insurance company mails your Social Security Number out on bare naked postcards for anyone to ogle, right?

Universal American Action Network, a subsidiary of Universal American Insurance, mailed out 80,000 such postcards to Medicare recipients around the country, WGAL of Pennsylvania reports.

The story gives the insurance company’s response to the epic failure:

UAM Action Network recently sent a mailer to approximately 80,000 Medicare Advantage plan members which mistakenly listed the member’s Medicare number on the postcard. The Medicare number was listed as part of the member’s mailing address and no indication was given as to its reference. We at the UAM Action Network sincerely apologize for this error, which was made by our mailing vendor without our knowledge. We have taken immediate steps to address the situation. The vendor has been fired. In addition, UAM Action Network will send a letter to those members who received the original mailer. The letter will notify them of the error and offer to provide the member with one year of free credit monitoring. Any member who received the mailer and has questions or concerns can contact us by calling 1-877-697-6228.

It’s nice that UAM is standing up and attempting to rectify the mistake, but frightening that something like this could ever happen in the first place.

80,000 Mailers Sent Out With Recipients’ Social Security Numbers In Plain View [WGAL (Pennsylvania)]
(Photo: frankieleon)
(Thanks, NORMLgirl!)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.