Emily Brindley
The Dallas Morning News (TNS)
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced Friday morning that a privacy breach at the agency has exposed the personal information of at least 61,000 Texans, opening them up to potential fraud.
HHSC learned on Nov. 21 that an unidentified number of employees “improperly” accessed people’s identifying information. The agency terminated those involved and reported the situation to the Office of Inspector General, the announcement said.
The agency sent out its announcement over email on Friday morning, a couple hours after The Texas Tribune published a story about the breach.
The breach impacts some recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called SNAP.
“The agency is still determining the impact of the privacy breach on other HHSC programs,” the announcement said.
A variety of personal data was exposed, according to the announcement, including full names and home addresses, as well as Social Security numbers and financial and banking information. The breach stretched from June 2021 through December 2024.
HHSC is advising SNAP recipients to check their accounts for any fraudulent activity, and report any suspicious activity by calling 2-1-1 and selecting option 3.
SNAP recipients who believe there is fraudulent activity on their account should also contact law enforcement and contact a local HHSC office to have their benefits reinstated.
Officials will notify all of the impacted people by Jan. 20 through first-class mail. More people will be notified as HHSC continues to review the breach, the announcement said.
For those impacted, HHSC is also offering credit monitoring and identity protection services for free for two years, the agency said.
HHSC posted a page with frequently asked questions for people impacted by the breach. That document can be found on the agency’s website.
©2025 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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