Computer Backup Tapes Go Missing During Remodeling

Nemours Children’s Clinic in Wilmington, Delaware has released information regarding three computer backup tapes that went missing in August during a remodeling project at their facility. These encrypted tapes were stored in a locked cabinet and have gone missing sometime in the month of August.

Though the tapes were encrypted, there is always the concern for identity theft with personal information out there. The data stored on these drives included information from the years of 1994 to 2004 regarding 1.6 million patients and various guarantors and vendors from facilities located in Delaware, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania. Information included names, addresses, birth dates, social security numbers, and insurance/medical information.

Nemours is offering one year of free credit monitoring services to those who have been affected, and continue to take the steps to determine the cause of this incident and make attempts to recover or find the missing drives.

Sensitive File Exposed on Public Searches

The University of Georgia is currently attempting to contact a number of employees that worked at the university in 2002, which encompasses almost 19,000 individuals. This is due to the fact that a file that contained personal information such as Social Security numbers, addresses, and dates of birth was made publicly accessible online. The university believes this file was available from 2008 to 2011, but is unsure if it was up for even longer than that.

Information such as this can be used for identity theft, and can cause real concern for anyone that may have had their data online and accessible to anyone that performed a simple data search on an internet search engine. The University of Georgia encourages faculty and staff from 2002 to consider identity theft protection services, and to continually monitor their financial accounts for unusual or suspicious activity that may indicate fraud or identity theft.

Old Medical Records Dumped Years After Medical Practice Closes

A couple taking a walk one afternoon ran across hundreds of medical records strewn about behind a department store in Fort Wayne, Indiana. These medical records are those that belonged to James Graham, MD, a doctor that retired from his practice in 1996 and passed away in 1998. These records date back to patients from the 1970′s, and include personal information as well as medical diagnoses.

An investigation is underway to determine how these files ended up behind a dumpster some fifteen years later, left for anyone to take and use fraudulently. The paperwork is now being properly shredded and disposed of, but it is difficult to tell if any of the files had been taken and are being used for identity theft.

Individuals who used to visit Dr. James Graham’s practice that was previously located on Rudisill Boulevard should take the proper precautions to ensure that their personal information is not at risk. Credit monitoring services, as well as keeping a close eye on financial and medical accounts, can help catch identity theft as it happens and help you protect your good name.

Stolen Laptop from Consultant’s Car was Unencrypted with Personal Data

A consultant from Accretive Health was the victim of theft on July 25th while their car was parked outside a restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The laptop contained personal, private medical information of upwards of 16,000 patients of Fairview Health Services. The biggest concern with this particular theft is that the information on the laptop was not encrypted, and therefore easily accessible by anyone who is looking to access the data and use it for malicious behavior such as identity theft.

The data on the laptop included personal information such as names, birth dates, medical diagnosis, and Social Security numbers, all which can be used for identity theft. Although the theft happened in July, letters are just now being sent to individuals because an investigation was underway to determine exactly what information was on the laptop and who was at risk. The letters are offering identity theft protection services to those who have been affected.

19,500 Student Information at Risk Due to Security Breach

Florida International University recently discovered that a database containing Social Security numbers, birth dates, names and school records of some 19,500 past and present students may have been hacked and/or accessed recently.

Letters have been sent to all the students that may have been affected. An investigation is underway to determine with the IT department if there was any additional access to the file, and the school is advising all the students to consider placing fraud alerts on their credit reports through the three major credit bureaus. Additional protection may include identity theft protection services, which can monitor their financial and credit accounts to catch suspicious and unusual activity.

CD With Personal Information Lost Before Destination

A CD with the personal information of approximately 4,000 U.S. Steel Mining retirees and dependents went missing in the mail in August of 2011. This CD was sent from the Benefits Administration Services through the United States Postal Service, and was lost in transit. It has been said that the information on the CD was password protected, but there is still concern due to the sensitive information stored on it–including Social Security numbers, birth dates, and addresses.

Credit report monitoring can help stop identity theft in its tracks, due to situations such as these that can cause an individual’s personally identifiable information to come in contact with those who decide to misuse it. Monitoring personal financial accounts can also stop identity theft and fraudulent transactions from taking place.

Greensboro, North Carolina Tax Files Made Public on Internet

Guilford County Tax Department in North Carolina is currently investigating a situation in which a security breach caused over a thousand individuals to have their tax information exposed and vulnerable online. The files that were accidentally linked online were those for garnishments or attachments through the Tax Department from December of 2010 onward.

The files allowed access to Social Security numbers, names, addresses, and bank account information. Additionally, it was determined that scanned images of checks were also vulnerable, which can be used to commit financial fraud and theft when left in the hands of identity thieves.

As soon as the leak was discovered, the information was removed from the site and connections with internet search engines were made to ensure cached copies and all access to these files were removed. However, this situation still leaves hundreds of individuals at risk for identity theft.

Anyone who has dealt with the Guilford County Tax Department within the last year should consider credit report monitoring services, as well as keep a close eye on their financial accounts for any suspicious or unusual activity.

Identity Theft a Big Deal According to Bureau of Justice Statistics

If you come across someone who tells you that identity theft is not a big deal; that it is not very likely to occur, you may want tell them about an old but good report released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. According to this report, between 2007 and 2008, five percent of Americans who are 16 years of age or older were victims of identity theft. The average amount that they lost, after being reimbursed by their banks or credit card companies, was $1,870. The total cost of this identity theft, according to the study was a whopping $17 billion.

Other interesting facts to come out of this study are that younger Americans are more likely to be victimized; more specifically, those under the age of 35. It may come as a surprise that retirees, people 65 years of age and older, are the least likely to be victimized, despite the fact that they tend to be prime targets for telephone scams. Also, households with high incomes are targets of choice, for obvious reasons. Federal Trade Commission data shows that the most common type of identity theft is still credit card fraud.

The study also found that people are still more likely to be victimized by low key methods, like purse theft and mailbox theft, than through complicated online schemes. Some of the best advice you can take to keep your information out of the wrong hands are to keep outgoing mail out of an unsecured mailbox, to check your credit report often and to sign up for an identity theft protection plan.

Actually the last two: credit report monitoring and an identity protection plan, can be rolled into one for extra vigilance and convenience. As far as the unsecured mailbox goes, you should be extra careful if you have an individual mailbox in front of your home. That flag that you put up when you have outgoing mail is like a sign to thieves saying, “Check out what’s in here.” Instead of not putting the flag up and having the mail carrier pile mail on top of your outgoing mail, put those important papers in a blue official government mailbox and leave yours for only the things that don’t really matter. Use the same discretion when deciding which mail will come in to your home address, especially if you’re not there to grab your mail immediately when it shows up.

Thumb Drive Containing 1,200 Social Security Numbers Goes Missing in Montgomery County, Ohio

A missing USB thumb drive leads the Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services to send out approximately 1,200 letters to individuals who applied for assistance through the late Transition Center in Moraine, Ohio between 2005 and 2010.

In August of 2011, the thumb drive came up missing and the department has yet to find it. There is no evidence that the drive has been found and/or used by anyone, but even so, the county is stepping up and offering one year of free identity theft protection services to those who may have been affected by this incident.

Almost 25,000 Retiree Records Lost in the Mail

The United States Postal Service and the United States Army are investigating a situation in which a CD with just shy of 25,000 retiree records has gone missing in the mail, somewhere between Virginia and Texas in late August, 2011. This CD had information including retirement data, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and other personally identifiable information of retirees who have received benefits and refunds back to 1988.

While investigation is underway, the Army has been sending out letters to those who may be affected,notifying them of ways to protect their credit from identity theft, including placing fraud alerts and signing up for credit report monitoring services. They have also set up a hotline for anyone who has questions regarding their information: 210-466-1640.

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