The Identity Theft Resource Center's 2008 Data Breach Report released in January indicated a dramatic increase in data breaches -an almost 50% increase over 2007. It's easy to see why! Listed below are the results of a quick search for recently "reported" data breaches just since April 1st. Here are 7 of the U.S. incidents that may have put you -or your kids at risk for identity theft.
8,000 Nashville students' personal data put online
Parents of 18,541 Metro Nashville students will receive letters next week outlining a security breach that put their childrens' Social Security numbers online for three months.
Boston-based Public Consulting Group Inc., which holds a contract with the state to collect student data from various districts, corrected the error March 31 after a parent using Google to search her daughter's name found it -- along with personal data for the students and 6,000 parent names.
The consulting group will pay for parents of affected children to check all family members' credit reports through Experian and for a year of monitoring.
For the full story see: The Tennessean
Hawaii department of Transportation Notifies CDL License Holders of Data Theft
The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is strongly encouraging approximately 1,892 individuals who hold a commercial drivers license (CDL) to take preventative measures to guard themselves against potential identify theft. At a minimum, individuals are advised to obtain free credit reports and to monitor their social security statements and personal accounts for unusual activity.
A laptop from the DOT's Motor Vehicle Safety Office was reported missing . The laptop included the names, personal information, and social security numbers of about 1,892 commercial vehicle drivers license holders. More
Error exposes town residents' tax info online
Apr 03, 2009 (Culpeper Star-Exponent - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Personal information for 7,845 town taxpayers was exposed on the Internet last weekend due to a vendor's mistake, town officials said late Thursday. MORE
Former child support worker nabbed for selling stolen personal info
Nashville; A former child support worker was arrested after attempting to sell the personal information -- including names, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers -- of 1,600 people. MORE
ID Theft Concerns Maryland Employees After Info Lost in Mail
Thousands of Maryland state employees have identity theft concerns after some of their personal information was lost in the mail.
The names, social security numbers and other personal information of about 8,000 state employees could be compromised, though there is no evidence that info has made it into the wrong hands. It just never made it into the right ones.
The potential problem came to light when a torn and empty envelope from the company that manages the state's health savings account program arrived by U.S. mail. The envelope was missing an invoice that contains confidential information. MORE
6,000 UW workers' personal information at risk
About 6,000 University of Washington employees were notified this week that their names and Social Security numbers were on a computer system that was hacked.
A UW police report indicates that two parking-management computer servers were hacked starting around Dec. 6 last year. An initial on-site review by the UW on Dec. 30 showed "obvious signs of compromise," prompting the university to take the servers offline, according to the report.
The incident has raised questions: Why did it take the UW three months to inform employees? And what were Social Security numbers doing on a parking computer to begin with? MORE
Stolen laptop contained personal information of patients
SANTA CRUZ -- When thieves broke into a medical office near Dominican Hospital recently they made off with a laptop containing personal and medical information on about 1,000 patients, officials at Palo Alto Medical Foundation said.
The company recently sent letters to patients whose information was taken, offering free credit and identity fraud monitoring and warning them to contact police if they notice anything suspicious on their credit reports, he said. MORE
Take control of your identity -before someone else does!
Offering credit monitoring services after a breach occurs -does nothing to reduce risk of an identity theft, nor does it do anything to lessen the potential impact.It's just a little too little, a little too late -in my opinion!
8,000 Nashville students' personal data put online
Parents of 18,541 Metro Nashville students will receive letters next week outlining a security breach that put their childrens' Social Security numbers online for three months.
Boston-based Public Consulting Group Inc., which holds a contract with the state to collect student data from various districts, corrected the error March 31 after a parent using Google to search her daughter's name found it -- along with personal data for the students and 6,000 parent names.
The consulting group will pay for parents of affected children to check all family members' credit reports through Experian and for a year of monitoring.
For the full story see: The Tennessean
Hawaii department of Transportation Notifies CDL License Holders of Data Theft
The state Department of Transportation (DOT) is strongly encouraging approximately 1,892 individuals who hold a commercial drivers license (CDL) to take preventative measures to guard themselves against potential identify theft. At a minimum, individuals are advised to obtain free credit reports and to monitor their social security statements and personal accounts for unusual activity.
A laptop from the DOT's Motor Vehicle Safety Office was reported missing . The laptop included the names, personal information, and social security numbers of about 1,892 commercial vehicle drivers license holders. More
Error exposes town residents' tax info online
Apr 03, 2009 (Culpeper Star-Exponent - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Personal information for 7,845 town taxpayers was exposed on the Internet last weekend due to a vendor's mistake, town officials said late Thursday. MORE
Former child support worker nabbed for selling stolen personal info
Nashville; A former child support worker was arrested after attempting to sell the personal information -- including names, Social Security numbers and bank account numbers -- of 1,600 people. MORE
ID Theft Concerns Maryland Employees After Info Lost in Mail
Thousands of Maryland state employees have identity theft concerns after some of their personal information was lost in the mail.
The names, social security numbers and other personal information of about 8,000 state employees could be compromised, though there is no evidence that info has made it into the wrong hands. It just never made it into the right ones.
The potential problem came to light when a torn and empty envelope from the company that manages the state's health savings account program arrived by U.S. mail. The envelope was missing an invoice that contains confidential information. MORE
6,000 UW workers' personal information at risk
About 6,000 University of Washington employees were notified this week that their names and Social Security numbers were on a computer system that was hacked.
A UW police report indicates that two parking-management computer servers were hacked starting around Dec. 6 last year. An initial on-site review by the UW on Dec. 30 showed "obvious signs of compromise," prompting the university to take the servers offline, according to the report.
The incident has raised questions: Why did it take the UW three months to inform employees? And what were Social Security numbers doing on a parking computer to begin with? MORE
Stolen laptop contained personal information of patients
SANTA CRUZ -- When thieves broke into a medical office near Dominican Hospital recently they made off with a laptop containing personal and medical information on about 1,000 patients, officials at Palo Alto Medical Foundation said.
The company recently sent letters to patients whose information was taken, offering free credit and identity fraud monitoring and warning them to contact police if they notice anything suspicious on their credit reports, he said. MORE
Take control of your identity -before someone else does!
Offering credit monitoring services after a breach occurs -does nothing to reduce risk of an identity theft, nor does it do anything to lessen the potential impact.It's just a little too little, a little too late -in my opinion!
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