Fergie's Tech Blog

California: File Unemployment Claim, Have Your Personal Data Stolen

A Bay Area News Service article, via The Mercury News, reports that:

Four Bay Area residents were among 43 people told recently that their personal data, including Social Security numbers, had been misplaced after they filed state unemployment compensation claims.

"We have no reason to believe that the lost information was obtained by individuals that will misuse it," said Patrick Henning, director of the California Employment Development Department. "However, because we cannot be sure, as soon as we were able to identify the 43 people whose records were lost, we sent out letters notifying them of the situation."

The affected local residents include one in Sonoma County, one in Alameda County and two in Santa Clara County.

The state has forwarded information from the California Office of Privacy Protection to the affected individuals on how they can avoid identity theft.

posted by Fergie @ 8/21/2006 04:26:00 PM