ID theft concern tied to stolen ag agency computer

DES MOINES – A security breach at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship potentially may have put the personal information of more than 3,000 Iowans at risk, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey said Thursday.

Northey said a computer and protective case was stolen from a locked state vehicle of an IDALS employee – a theft that has placed at risk the personal information of Iowans that are participating in the department's Horse and Dog Breeding Program. The department provides financial awards through the program to breeders of successful Iowa-born racing greyhounds and racehorses at the close of each racing season, he said.

The state vehicle used by an employee of the Department's Horse and Dog Breeding Program was broken into Thursday at a state parking ramp located near the Iowa Capitol and the Wallace State Office Building that houses the agricultural department. While the computer did have an encryption protection, Northey said there was concern that unauthorized access could be gained to the names, addresses, telephone numbers and Social Security numbers of 3,404 Iowans who participate in the Iowa Horse and Dog Breeding Program.

The incident is being investigated by the Iowa State Patrol.

“The department takes our responsibility very seriously to protect the personal information of Iowans who utilize our programs,” Northey said. “We are moving as quickly and aggressively as possible to retrieve this information and reach out to potentially affected Iowans so they can step-up their efforts to protect their personal information.”

As a result of this security breach, Northey said the department planned to mail letters to all the potentially affected Iowans on Friday and was encouraging potentially affected Iowans to place a fraud victim alert on your credit report by contacting the following credit reporting companies: Equifax, P.O. box 740241, Atlanta, GA., 30374-0241, 800-525-6286, www.equifax.com; Experian, P.O. box 9532, Allen, TX 75013, 888-397-3742,  www.experian.com; and  TransUnion, P.O. box 6790, Fullerton, CA., 92834-6790, 800-680-7289, www.transunion.com.

In addition, Iowans can obtain a free annual copy of your credit report by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com, or calling toll-free 1-877-322-8228.

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rod.boshart@gazcomm.com