RALEIGH, N.C. (828newsNOW) — North Carolina’s attorney general is sharing safety tips following a major security breach at a healthcare company.

In February, Change Healthcare announced it had been the victim of a cyberattack which threatened the security of patients’ information and delayed some prescriptions and paychecks for medical workers, according to The Associated Press. Change Healthcare is a subsidiary of health care giant UnitedHealth Group.

A press release from North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein says although the total number of those affected by the breach is not yet known, Change Healthcare has estimated that up to one-third of all Americans may have been impacted.

“We don’t yet know who was impacted by this enormous data breach,” said Attorney General Josh Stein in his press release. “I’m going to make sure that Change Healthcare does right by people who were affected, but in the meantime, I want North Carolinians to take steps to secure their financial and medical information. Monitor or freeze your credit and keep an eye out for possible signs of a scam – it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

The following information was provided in the North Carolina attorney general’s release:

If you believe you may have been impacted, the attorney general says you can access two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protections:

  • To enroll in credit monitoring through IDX, click here or call 1-888-846-4705.
  • For additional support from Change Healthcare, call 1-866-262-5342.

North Carolinians should look out for warning signs that someone is using their medical information, like:

  • A bill from their doctor for services they did not receive.
  • Errors in their Explanation of Benefits statement like services they never received or prescription medications they do not take.
  • A call from a debt collector about a medical debt they do not owe.
  • Medical debt collection notices on their credit report that they do not recognize.
  • A notice from their health insurance company indicating they have reached their benefit limit.
  • Being denied insurance coverage because their medical records show a pre-existing condition they do not have.

If people are concerned that their data may have been impacted but prefer not to use the free resources provided by Change Healthcare, they can also consider freezing their credit. A credit freeze prevents creditors—such as banks or lenders—from accessing people’s credit reports. This will stop identity thieves from taking out new loans or credit cards in consumer’s names because creditors will not approve their loans or credit requests if they cannot first access their credit reports. By law, a credit bureau must allow you to place, temporarily lift, or remove a credit freeze for free.

When consumers freeze their credit with each bureau, the bureaus will send them a personal identification number. The consumers can then use that PIN to unfreeze their credit if they want to apply for a loan or credit card. Consumers can also use the PIN to freeze their credit again after they have applied for loans or a new credit card.

You must freeze your credit with each of the three major credit bureaus:

Equifax | +1 (888) 766-0008

Experian | +1 (888) 397-3742

TransUnion | +1 (800) 680-7289