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If you have used the online Alabama JobLink system to search and apply for a job within the last four years, this data breach may affect you.

The Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL) recently reported a data breach in the America’s JobLink (AJL) system. America’s JobLink is managed by the America’s JobLink Alliance, a Kansas City company that provides online services to multiple state employment offices across the country, including Alabama. The hackers were able to obtain the names, social security numbers, and dates of birth of some job seekers. If you registered with the Alabama State Employment, you may be at risk for identity theft. The ADOL is sending a letter to every registered job seeker whose data was compromised; detailing steps are being taken to help secure your identity.

If you believe that you are at risk from the data breach, here are a few tips to help you safeguard your identity.

  • ADOL Advice: “If you believe you may have been affected, and have not been notified, you may call them at 1-800-361-4524 and select option “1” in order to determine if your information may have been accessed.  You will need to provide the LAST FOUR DIGITS ONLY of your social security number and your date of birth in order to check the information.”
  • The Alabama JobLink Alliance “has established a call center to answer questions from those who are affected.  The toll-free number for this call center is 1-844-469-3939. The center is open from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. (CT) Monday – Friday.  Customers may also email ajlsecurity@joblink.alabama.gov with any additional questions about the incident.”
  • Contact the three Credit Reporting agencies – Transunion, Equifax, and Experian – to place a fraud alert or credit freeze on all your accounts.
  • Notify your bank and credit card companies of your situation.
  • If you normally do online banking or manage your credit card accounts online, place alerts on each account so that you will be notified by email or text of any transaction, based on the parameters you set.
  • Be sure to check your credit reports over the next several months to be sure that there is no fraudulent activity on your accounts.

Source: BBB North Alabama and the Alabama Department of Labor (ADOL)

For more information on this data breach, go to Updated: America’s JobLink (AJL) Data Incident Affects Alabama; New Call Center Operational; AJLA to Offer Credit Monitoring Services. For more information on how to recover from identity theft, go to www.idtheft.gov. To report a scam, go to the BBB Scam Tracker. To find trustworthy businesses, go to bbb.org.