Computer towers were stolen during a burglary at a Liberty Tax Service office in California, and now an undisclosed number of individuals are being notified that personal information – including Social Security numbers – may be at risk.
How many victims? Undisclosed.
What type of personal information? Names, addresses, dates of birth, identification numbers, Social Security numbers, and income documents, as well as names of dependents, their dates of birth, and their Social Security numbers.
What happened? Computer towers containing the personal information were stolen during a burglary at a Liberty Tax Service office in California.
What was the response? Law enforcement was notified and an investigation is ongoing. All impacted individuals are being notified and offered a free year of credit monitoring services.
Details: The theft occurred on Feb. 1 at a Liberty Tax Service office in Highland, Calif. The information contained in the computer towers was password protected. There is no evidence that credit card information was compromised.
Quote: “We take aggressive steps to protect your personal information, including an active alarm monitoring system, security cameras, and ensuring all records are securely locked,” Sam Hilo, CEO of YBF Tax Inc dba Liberty Tax Service, wrote in the notification letter. “However, despite our efforts the burglars removed some files and computer towers from the premises.”
Source: oag.ca.gov, “Letter to Customers on Data Breach,” Feb. 13, 2015.
