Aetna is notifying those affected in letters that also explain how to take advantage of free credit monitoring services and offers advice on how to guard against identity theft and fraud. They also have a toll-free number to call with additional questions: 866-760-9572.
The CD was mailed Sept. 6 by an employee of Aetna Signature Administrators, a division of Aetna, to another employee for archiving. The CD was reported missing from the envelop upon receipt Sept. 9. Aetna Signature Administration and the U.S. Postal Service both investigated the incident but were not able to find the item, according to Aetna. Although it has not been recovered, Aetna said it has no reason to believe the information was or will be misused. According to its investigation, the CD may have been discarded and destroyed by the USPS, the company stated.
Following this incident, Aetna said it has asked third-party administrators to stop sharing Social Security numbers and has retrained employees on procedures to protect data.
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