By Brad Segall

THORNBURY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) — A consumer advocacy attorney from Montgomery County, Pa. has some advice for local college students who may have had their personal information breached in a recent incident.

Attorney Craig Kimmel, of the Kimmel & Silverman firm in Ambler, says that students at Cheyney University should immediately contact their creditors and the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion), to let them know of the potential breach.

The university apologized to students after an e-mail sent to all students late last month accidentally included a file with personal data including Social Security numbers.

Kimmel (below right) urged the students to act quickly before that information is used to apply for credit in their name.

(Craig Kimmel. Photo provided)

“A variety of things can happen, and they happen very quickly in today’s world because everything that’s done is done at a very, very fast pace in electronic transfer and electronic communication,” Kimmel warns.

Cheyney University says it is using a credit monitoring firm to prevent misuse of the information. The 240-page file contained names, addresses, and other personal data for 2,100 current and former students.