OAKLAND, Calif. (February 24, 2026 and April 21, 2026) – Blue Shield of California (Blue Shield) and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan (formerly Care 1st) is notifying members about a potential privacy breach that may have impacted their protected health information. Blue Shield takes the privacy and security of personal information very seriously.
What happened
On January 13, 2025, Blue Shield’s vendor, Conduent Business Services, LLC. (Conduent) discovered that they were the victim of a cyber incident that impacted a limited portion of their network.
Conduent is a third-party service provider that offers printing/mailroom, document processing, payment integrity, and other back-office support services. Conduent had access to personal information due to the services it provides to its clients. The incident experienced by Conduent may have involved some protected health information of some Blue Shield members. This information came into Conduent’s possession due to the services they provided to Blue Shield.
Conduent immediately secured their networks and initiated an investigation with the assistance of third-party forensic experts. Conduent’s investigation determined that an unauthorized third party had access to their environment from October 21, 2024, to January 13, 2025, and obtained some files associated with Blue Shield. Given the nature and complexity of the data involved, Conduent has been working diligently with a dedicated review team, including internal and external experts, to conduct a detailed analysis of the affected files to identify the personal information contained therein. Conduent notified Blue Shield on November 6, 2025, that member protected health information was contained in the affected files.
What information was involved
The information that may have been impacted included some or all of the following: member names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security Numbers, medical service information (treatment and diagnosis codes, provider names, dates of service and claim amounts), group numbers and subscriber ID numbers.
The incident did not involve driver’s license numbers, or banking or credit card information.
What we are doing
Upon discovery of the incident, Conduent confirmed they immediately took their systems offline, notified law enforcement, and retained cybersecurity experts to analyze their environment. According to Conduent, its cybersecurity experts examined Conduent’s environment and confirmed there has been no further known malicious activity since the event and has safely restored their systems and operations. Blue Shield takes this incident very seriously and we are committed to maintaining member privacy.
To help protect member identity, Blue Shield is offering complimentary access to Experian IdentityWorksSM for one year.
Steps members can take to protect their information
As a precautionary measure, Blue Shield recommends that members remain vigilant by closely reviewing their account statements and credit reports. If they detect any suspicious activity on an account, they should promptly notify the financial institution or company with which the account is maintained.
If members believe there was fraudulent use of their information as a result of this incident and would like to discuss how they may be able to resolve those issues, they are being asked to reach out to an Experian agent at 877-890-9332.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Additionally, members should report any fraudulent activity or suspected incidence of identity theft to proper law enforcement authorities, including local law enforcement to file a police report, the Attorney General, or the FTC. To file a complaint with the FTC, members should go to www.ftc.gov/idtheft or call 1-877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338). Complaints filed with the FTC will be added to the FTC’s Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, which is a database made available to law enforcement agencies. A copy of Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft, a comprehensive guide from the FTC to help people guard against and deal with identity theft, can be found on the following website: https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/take-charge-fighting-back-against-identity-theft
Copy of credit report
Members may also obtain a free copy of their credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies once every 12 months by visiting http://www.annualcreditreport.com or calling 877-322-8228. Or they can elect to purchase a copy of their credit report by contacting one of the three national credit reporting agencies. Contact information for the three national credit reporting agencies is provided below.
Fraud alert
Members may also consider placing a fraud alert on their credit report. An initial fraud alert is free and will remain on a credit file for at least 90 days. The alert informs creditors of possible fraudulent activity within the report and requests that the creditor contact the requesting party prior to establishing any accounts in the requesting party’s name. To place a fraud alert on a credit report, contact any of the three credit reporting agencies using the information below:
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Equifax 1-800-525-6285 www.equifax.com P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374 |
Experian (888) 397-3742 www.experian.com P.O. Box 9532 Allen, TX 75013 |
TransUnion (800) 680-7289 www.transunion.com P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19022
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For more information
Should any member have questions regarding this matter, they can call Blue Shield, toll free, at 1-833-931-5100, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time for assistance.
For more information on the Conduent event itself, members can view Conduent’s notice here.