Notice of Data Event

Gale Associates, Inc. (“Gale”) is writing to inform you of a recent event that may impact the privacy of some of your personal information. While there is no evidence of actual or attempted misuse of your information, in an abundance of caution, we are providing you with information about this event, our response, and the steps you may take to further protect your information against identity theft and fraud, should you feel it necessary to do so.

What Happened? On or around June 6, 2025, we became aware of suspicious activity on our computer network. We moved quickly to secure the systems and launched an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the activity. Through the investigation, we determined that an unknown actor gained access to certain systems between June 4, 2025 and June 6, 2025. As a result, the unknown actor may have had access to certain files within these systems and information may have been accessed or acquired. Gale then undertook a thorough review of the impacted systems to determine what data may have been impacted and to whom it relates, and to identify address information for the individuals. This review was completed recently and we determined that personal information was present on the affected systems.

What Information Was Involved? The investigation determined that the types of information in the accessible data may include: name, Social Security number, date of birth, US alien registration number, driver’s license number, passport number, financial account information, credit or debit card information, medical information, and health insurance information.

What We Are Doing. The privacy and security of your information is among our highest priorities. Upon discovering the event, Gale moved quickly to respond and investigate the event, assess the security of our systems, and notify potentially impacted individuals. Additionally, Gale reported this event to federal law enforcement. As part of our ongoing commitment to information security, we are currently reviewing our protocols, policies, and procedures to reduce the likelihood of a similar event from occurring in the future. We are also notifying appropriate regulators, as required.

What You Can Do. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Suspicious activity should be reported to relevant parties, including banking or financial institutions. Please review the enclosed Steps You Can Take To Help Protect Personal Information.

For More Information. We understand that you may have questions about this event that are not addressed in this letter. If you have additional questions, please call 1-800-405-6108 from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm EST, Monday through Friday, excluding major U.S. holidays. You may also write to us at 300 Ledgewood Place, Suite 300, Rockland, MA 02370.

Sincerely,
Gale Associates, Inc.

Steps You Can Take To Help Protect Personal Information

Monitor Accounts

Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.

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 one-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 consumers are the victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years. Should consumers wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any 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 a consumer’s name without consent. However, consumers should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in their credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, consumers cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report. To request a credit freeze, individuals may need to provide some or all of the following information:

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim of identity theft.

Should consumers wish to place a credit freeze or fraud alert, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

Additional Information

Consumers may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 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. Consumers can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Consumers have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, consumers will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim.

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001; 1-202-442-9828; and oag.dc.gov.

For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-576-6300 or 1-888-743-0023; and https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/.

For New Mexico residents, consumers have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in their credit file has been used against them, the right to know what is in their credit file, the right to ask for their credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to consumers’ files is limited; consumers must give consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; consumers may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance based on information in their credit report; and consumers may seek damages from violators. Consumers 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 consumers to review their rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting 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 Rhode Island residents, the Rhode Island Attorney General may be reached at: 150 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02903; 1-401-274-4400; and www.riag.ri.gov. Under Rhode Island law, individuals have the right to obtain any police report filed in regard to this event. There are approximately 7 Rhode Island residents that may be impacted by this event.