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Laptop Theft Puts Pennsylvania Drivers' Data at Risk

By Martin H. Bosworth
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 30, 2006

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Over 11,000 Pennsylvania drivers are at risk of identity theft after thieves broke into the Wilkes-Barre Drivers License Center and made off with laptops containing their personal information.

The thieves also nabbed equipment that could be used to make as many as 750 fake drivers' licenses and photo identification cards.

The stolen information included names, addresses, driver's license numbers, and in the case of 5,348 customers, complete Social Security numbers.

The theft took place on Nov. 28th, and affects any driver who was a customer of the Wilkes-Barre center between Aug. 30 and Nov. 28th, 2006, state officials said.

The Pennsylvania DOT (PennDOT) moved immediately to notify the public, and is currently in the process of sending out letters to the thousands of affected individuals. PennDOT has also set up toll-free hotlines to answer questions and to accept tips that might lead to arrest of the thieves or recovery of the equipment.

"We understand the serious nature of this matter and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and concern it will cause; and that we have taken swift action to address this breach and assist our customers," said PennDOT Deputy Secretary Betty Serian.

Serian also said the department was going to set up free credit checks for a year for any affected individual.

Serian took the unusual step of not claiming the laptops were stolen for their "street value," a common but unsubstantiated refrain in most cases of laptop or device theft.

Arrest In Miami

Meanwhile, an arrest has been made in a widely-publicized laptop theft from Florida's Department of Transportation. The department's Inspector General claimed there is "low risk" of identity theft from the still-missing computer.

The missing laptop contained data on 133,000 Floridians, mostly commercial drivers and pilots. The individual arrested was not identified.

The laptop had disappeared from the vehicle of a special agent conducting a fraud investigation on July 27th.

The OIG report stated that the thief had been caught by setting up a "decoy laptop" in a car under surveillance. The suspect used the same means to break into the car as in the original theft, and was arrested.

The OIG's report said that an "identity risk management company" had determined for the DOT that there was no evidence that the stolen data was being used for fraud or identity theft.

The DOT said it hired the ID Analytics research firm to continue the investigation and determine if the data was being misused.

After a quiet few months, instances of laptop or device theft containing personal data are again on the rise.

The Kaiser Permanente health organization reported on Nov. 29th that a laptop containing data on 38,000 Colorado patients was stolen from a Kaiser employee's car in Oakland, CA.

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