How many victims? 1,280 of the packets contained Social Security numbers.
What was the response? The state Department of Public Welfare has mailed notification letters to victims and placed a 90-day fraud alert on their credit files.
Details: The department is working with the inserter manufacturer to determine what went wrong. As a new policy, the vendor will hand check every 50th packet to ensure it is going to the right destination.
Source: pennlive.com, The Patriot-News, "Welfare renewals take a wrong turn," Aug. 26.