June 4, 2025 – Shelby Dermatology, PC d/b/a Dermatologists of Birmingham (“Dermatologists of Birmingham”) is providing notice of a data event that may affect the privacy of certain individuals’ information. Dermatologists of Birmingham takes this data event very seriously and is providing information about the data event, our response to it, and resources available to individuals to help protect their information, should they feel it appropriate to do so.
What Happened? On or around March 7, 2025, Dermatologists of Birmingham became aware of suspicious activity within its network environment. Upon becoming aware, Dermatologists of Birmingham promptly began an investigation into the scope and nature of the suspicious activity, retained legal counsel and third-party forensic specialists to investigate the suspicious activity. Dermatologists of Birmingham then began a comprehensive review of the data set to determine what sensitive and/or personal information was impacted and to whom it related. On May 15, 2025, Dermatologists of Birmingham finished its review of the impacted information.
What Information Was Involved? The following data may have been copied without authorization: name, address, email address, phone number, date of birth, medical diagnosis and treatment information, health insurance information, and in a limited set of circumstances Social Security number. The data elements impacted vary by individual and not all data elements were impacted for all individuals.
What We Are Doing. Dermatologists of Birmingham is committed to ensuring the security and privacy of all personal information in its control. Upon discovery of the Event, Dermatologists of Birmingham moved promptly to investigate and respond to the Event. Specifically, Dermatologists of Birmingham informed its law firm and began identifying the affected individuals in preparation for notice.
Dermatologists of Birmingham offered 12 months of complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft restoration services through TransUnion to all individuals to help protect their identity. Additionally, Dermatologists of Birmingham provided guidance on how to better protect against identity theft and fraud, including providing information on how to place a fraud alert and security freeze on one’s credit file, the contact details for the national consumer reporting agencies, information on how to obtain a free credit report, a reminder to remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft by reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports, and the contact details for the Federal Trade Commission.
How Will Individuals Know If They Are Affected By This Data Event? Dermatologists of Birmingham is mailing a notice letter to individuals whose information was determined to be in the affected files, for whom a valid mailing address is available. If an individual does not receive a letter but would like to know if they are affected, they may call Dermatologists of Birmingham’s dedicated assistance line at 1-833-998-9347 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. This excludes all major U.S. holidays.
What You Can Do. We encourage individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements, explanation of benefits forms, and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Under U.S. law individuals are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Individuals may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of their credit report, place a fraud alert, or a security freeze. Contact information for the credit bureaus is below.
Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.
As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on your credit report. To request a security freeze, you may need to provide the following information, depending on whether the request is made online, by phone, or by mail:
- Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
- Social Security number;
- Date of birth;
- Addresses for the prior two to five years;
- Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
- A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
- A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if you are a victim of identity theft.
Should you wish to place a fraud alert or a credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:
Equifax
https://www.equifax.com/personal/creditreport-services/
1-888-298-0045
Fraud Alert: P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348-5069
Credit Freeze: P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348-5788
Experian
https://www.experian.com/help/
1-888-397-3742
Fraud Alert: P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
Credit Freeze: P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion
https://www.transunion.com/credithelp
1-800-916-8800
Fraud Alert: P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
Credit Freeze: P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094
Additional Information
You may further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.
For District of Columbia residents: The District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001; (202) 442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.
For New Mexico residents: State law advises you to review personal account statements and credit reports, as applicable, to detect errors resulting from the security breach. You also have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violators. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act at www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
For Maryland residents: You may also wish to review information provided by the Maryland Attorney General on how to avoid identity theft at https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/IdentityTheft/default.aspx, or by sending an email to idtheft@oag.state.md.us, or calling 410-576-6491. Shelby Dermatology, PC d/b/a Dermatologists of Birmingham is located at 1022 1st Street North, Suite 201, Alabaster, AL 35007 and can be reached at 205-715-8985.
For New York residents: You may contact and obtain information from these state agencies: New York Department of State Division of Consumer Protection, One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12231-0001, 518-474-8583 / 1-800-697-1220, http://www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection; and New York State Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341, 1-800-771-7755, https://ag.ny.gov.
For North Carolina residents: The Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6400, and www.ncdoj.gov. You may also obtain information about steps you can take to prevent identity theft from the North Carolina Attorney General at https://ncdoj.gov/protecting-consumers/protecting-your-identity/protect-yourself-from-id-theft/.