4,400 Individuals Affected by FairPoint Communications Inc Lost Storage Device

Even though FairPoint Communications Inc. has security measures in place, it will not do the company any good if no one follows them.

Case in point: due to a failure to comply to these security measures, an employee of the Charlotte-based company lost a storage device that contained employee information. Some 4,400 individuals now have information misplaced. This information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, birthdates, compensation and other pertinent information. Luckily, there was no financial information stored on this portable data storage device.

The Attorney General’s office has been alerted of the incident, as well as those who were possibly affected. The FairPoint Communications Inc. company is offering identity theft protection services to all employees to help safeguard against identity theft related to this incident.

Stolen Laptop Contains Information on 14,000 Patients of Moses Cone Hospital

A laptop computer stolen from an employee’s car in March is cause for concern for over 14,000 past and present cardiology and orthopedic patients of Moses Cone Hospital, some dating back to 2004. Letters have been sent to the affected patients.

Law enforcement was notified that the information on the laptop included social security numbers and patient information, but was password protected and was in a software program that “requires considerable expertise and training to use,” states Lynn Matthews, the compliance and privacy officer at Moses Cone Hospital.

Patients should still monitor their credit reports regularly or sign up for a credit monitoring service as passwords can be cracked and software programs figured out. It all depends on how badly the thieves want the information and if they stole the laptop for the purpose of identity theft or merely for the street value of a hot laptop.

Stolen Computer Exposes Sensitive Information of Mississippi Hospital Patients

It is unknown how many have been effected by a computer theft from the Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in McComb, Mississippi. A computer was stolen in February from a billing company used by Lakeland Radiologists.

Letters are being sent to notify those patients whose records may have been saved and stored on the stolen equipment. Numbers have not been released at this time.

As the computer may have been stolen for information rather than the value of the computer, patients should look at identity theft protection companies that protect you from medical identity theft as well as credit fraud.

Fraud Alerts Recommended for Peninsula Orthopaedic Patients Due to Stolen Data Tape

An investigation is underway after records from the Peninsula Orthopaedic office were stolen during transport to a storage facility near the end of March.

The company recently notified their 100,000 patients about the stolen tapes, and alerted them to place fraud alerts on their credit reports and carefully monitor what appears on their reports from the major credit bureaus.

Immediately after the data was missing, the doctor’s office started working with law enforcement to look into the matter and help assist in the investigation.

Patients can also have an identity theft protection service, such as LifeLock or TrustedId, place and renew the fraud alerts on their behalf and benefit from the additional protection measures and identity theft insurance or guarantee.

10,000 Social Security Numbers May Have Been Compromised at Penn State University

Over 10,000 Social Security numbers were compromised on a computer storing historical data at the Behrend College. The incident was caught since the University uses anti-virus software for students and staffs to install on their computers, and it notifies the IT services group of any intrusion efforts. The end of March, these files had been breached.

Although none of the numbers appear to be have been released to a third party, the university is taking extreme measures to protect those who may have their data at risk. Credit report monitoring is still highly advised.

Laptop Stolen from Orange County Accounting Firm Contained Personal Banking Information

Borrego Springs Bank, along with many others, are notifying their customers of a possible security breach.

Laptop computers were stolen from an Orange County accounting firm that contained personal, identifying banking information of those who band at not only the Borrego Springs Bank but others that were involved around the San Diego County area. The office window was broken to obtain entry into the office, but the investigation has not yet led to any arrests, nor have the missing computers been located and recovered.

The financial information on the laptops was protected by two passwords, so there is no immediate risk of identity theft, but the bank is still notifying it’s customers to keep an eye on their credit reports and bank accounts for any unusual, suspicious activity on their accounts.

This is good advice as passwords can easily be cracked but it does not go far enough. Clients may also want to look at proactive credit protection rather than waiting for your credit reports to tell you that an identity theft attack has occurred.

18,000 Metro Nashville Students and 6,000 Parents Have Their Personal Information Exposed on Google

Information of over 18,000 Metro Nashville students and over 6,000 parents was accessible through a simple Google search for over three months.

The information was found by a private contractor, Public Consulting Group, and removed from Google at their request.

Due to this security breach, credit monitoring services will be offered for free to help protect their information, although there are no signs that the information has been used inappropriately at this time.

It should be noted that credit monitoring only informs you after the fact of an identity theft situation and that children generally don’t have a credit report. This should be confirmed though and monitored to make sure that one doesn’t come about illegally. An identity theft protection service such as LifeLock or TrustedID would be more effective for children then credit monitoring.

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