Laptop theft exposes info of N.C. registered voters

Five laptops containing the personal information of registered voters from North Carolina's Robeson County were stolen.

How many victims? 71,000.

What type of personal information? Names, addresses, dates of birth, the last four digits of voters' Social Security numbers, and possibly driver's license numbers.

What happened? Some time between July 18 and Sept. 4, five computers containing voters' sensitive information went missing from the Robeson County Board of Elections office. The laptops, which were protected by multiple passwords, were last used in May.  

What was the response? The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the state's attorney general's office, the board of elections and Lumberton police were all notified of the theft. Last month, letters were sent to all 71,000 registered voters in the county informing them of the incident. They were advised to monitor their accounts and to initiate a free 90-day fraud alert.

Details: Dock Locklear Jr., the board of elections director, ordered replacement laptops be outfitted with encryption software and multiple passwords.

Source: fayobserver.com, The Fayetteville Observer, “Laptops stolen from Robeson elections board spark ID theft fears,” Oct. 3, 2012.