Were You Affected by the Quest Diagnostics Data Breach?

Consumers impacted by the Quest Diagnostics data breach might have recently received a notice from an associated lab or AMCA that their personal information was affected by this problem. Many consumers did not realize that many more labs beyond Quest and LabCorp were affected by the data breach.

The news story about the Quest Diagnostics data breach first broke in mid-2019 when the lab company said that an unauthorized user was able to tap into their network and access financial data tied to patients who had visited their labs.

When the company announced the data breach after it was discovered on May 14, the lab stated that medical data and Social Security numbers were exposed but that laboratory test results were not.

The actual breach was connected to a vendor of Quest Diagnostics rather than the lab itself. American Medical Collection Agency notified Quest after they discovered the leak of information.

AMCA representatives said at the time that a consultant working for credit card companies was the unauthorized user. As many as 12 million patients could have been affected by this breach, and some of those consumers might have become the victims of identity theft as a result.

The breach affected other companies besides Quest. Nearly 8 million patients of LabCorp reportedly had their information exposed.

In response to concerns about the security protocol used by the AMCA, the organization said that they hired a forensics firm to get more information about how the breach happened. The agency also says that anyone who was affected by the breach will receive 24 months of credit monitoring if their credit card details or Social Security information was compromised. The Quest Diagnostics data breach could have broad implications for those affected.

The company claims that they moved their payment processing to another vendor after discovering the breach, but it could be a move that’s too little, too late for the customers who had their personal information exposed.

Reports have not yet revealed whether only customers who visited the lab in a certain time frame were impacted or whether it was all customers in the database for Quest. Those who visited Quest Diagnostics and also had a bill from that lab nearing or in collections should run their credit report to see if they have been impacted.

Hackers often target companies that have a lot of stored financial information because of the potential to reap profits immediately when this data is stolen.

Data breaches have become an increasingly common problem for consumers due to the volume of information exposed and the number of companies that have been targeted by hackers.

Consumers have taken a greater interest in monitoring their own credit as a result, but even these proactive steps might not help if a customer does not know how and where their data has already been exposed. For this reason, the number of lawsuits against companies with data breaches has also increased.

Those patients who were in collections with AMCA and received a notice about their data being disclosed in this breach should consider speaking with a lawyer about their options and potential exposure. Top Class Actions can help you find an attorney to discuss your case.

Join a Free AMCA Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you are a patient at LabCorp, Quest or another lab and you received notice that you were affected by the AMCA data breach, you may qualify to join this data breach class action lawsuit investigation.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.