Thursday, April 05, 2007

UCSF Security Breach Effects 46,000

UCSF-Security-Breach-Effects-46,000-audio-post - click to play

Nearly enough people to fill a football stadium
are impacted by the latest security breach. The
University of California - San Francisco is the
latest academic institution to become the victim
of potential mass identity theft.


46,000 individuals are being contacted by the
university as a precautionary measure after
an unauthorized computer access was discovered.

The computer in question, contained the highly
confidential information on students, faculty, &
staff members of the university and its medical
center.

The confidential data prized by identity thieves
included:

  • Names
  • Social Security Numbers (ssn)
  • Bank Account Numbers

While there has been no case of identity theft
yet identified from this computer break in, the
university is taken the proactive step to inform
all of those who may be negatively impacted.

So, our tip for today is for anyone who's been
associated with the university (UCSF) within
the past two years to take immediate action.

Get a copy of your credit report to manually
scan for any recently open accounts or credit
inquiries not initiated by you or existing
creditors. Secondly, contact UCSF's website
or by the special security hot-line for more
information.

(415) 353-8100

Lastly, make sure to tell a friend or associate
you know who could also be negatively impacted
by this security breach.

Remember, identity thieves thrive on their
victims not knowing or not being able to
react quickly enough to limit or halt the
financial damage.