On April 25, 2024, the Lillooet Area Library Association was notified by the BC Libraries Cooperative (the Co-op) that that they had experienced a privacy breach. The Co-op provides the data base for our books and patrons, that you know as Evergreen. The breach affected many Libraries that use this system.
The hackers managed to get email addresses and phone numbers of patrons who were notified by email or text between March 27th and April 19th.
There was no other information leaked. The hackers did not learn names associated with the email address and phone numbers, or any borrowing history.
Only people who received an automatic email or text from us between March 27th and April 19th are affected by this leak.
The risk from this leak is that the hackers will use it to target people with spam and phishing emails and texts. You can protect yourself by doing the following:
- Learn how to spot phishing emails and texts,
- Remember that the Library will never ask for your password, credit card information or money in a text or email,
- If you get an email that looks like it is from your library but asks for this information let us know and put it in your spam folder,
- Do not click any links from texts or emails that seem fishy,
- Call us at 250-256-7944 if you are concerned.
We are very sorry that this happened. The Coop is working hard to ensure that this will not happen again. They are providing regular updates and we will keep you informed if any new information comes to light.
You can learn more about spotting phishing frauds through the Anti-Fraud Centre here.
You can learn more about the Coop and Evergreen here.
If you have any questions please get in touch with Privacy Officer, Toby Mueller
— 250-256-7944 or lala@lillooet.bclibrary.ca