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Some Town Tax Info on Internet
The Town of Culpeper is notifying 7,845 taxpayers in a letter that personal information in the hands of a town vendor made its way onto the Internet, exposing the taxpayer’s name, address and social security number.
The vendor had the records to reformat the town’s personal property tax file for billing purposes.
“We wanted to notify the taxpayers about the breach as soon as possible and provide information on methods to monitor credit records,” said Town Manager Jeff Muzzy.
The letter, signed by Muzzy, explains what officials know about the breach and encourages taxpayers to be vigilant so as not to become victims of identity theft.
The letter also provides a special telephone number for taxpayers to call should they have any questions about what to do.
To this point, town officials know of no instance of a taxpayer’s information being used fraudulently.
“It is regrettable situation,” Muzzy said. “The town is doing everything in its power to notify the taxpayers and ensure that personal information is protected by vendors contracted by the town.”
A copy of the letter is also posted on the town’s Web site www.culpeper.to
The letter sent to taxpayers is copied below:
April 3, 2009
RE: Security Breach Notification
Dear Town Taxpayer:
On Friday, March 27, 2009, we discovered the unauthorized posting on the Internet of an electronic tax file belonging to the Town. The personal property tax records file was under the control of one of the Town’s vendors, who were under contract to format the file for billing purposes. The file was set up on a password-protected basis and contained the names and social security numbers of seven thousand eight hundred forty-five (7,845) taxpayers. It is our understanding that our file was part of a site containing other confidential information, which was compromised. We are not sure at this point how this breach occurred and the investigation is continuing. The Town and vendor undertook zealous efforts on Friday and throughout the weekend to get the file removed from the Internet. Notice was received on Monday, March 30, 2009 that the posting for the file had been removed from the Internet.
The Town is committed and resolved to take all reasonable efforts to protect our taxpayer’s personal information. In fact, we entrusted the vendor who we have a contract with to have appropriate procedures and protections in place. We are presently working with our personnel, legal counsel and vendors to mitigate any adverse effects of this security breach and to minimize the possibility of future security breaches. While we have no knowledge of any fraudulent activity resulting from this security breach, our investigation remains ongoing. To this end, we are working with the proper law enforcement authorities and alerting the three major creditor bureaus.
We would encourage you to be vigilant in your own efforts to protect your personal information. Listed below are some of the steps that you can take to protect yourself.
Order a copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies below. You may obtain a free credit report once a year from each of the three credit bureaus. To order your free credit report, choose any of the following options:
Request your Credit Report online: www.annualcreditreport.com
Request your Credit Report by Phone: Call 1-877-322-8228
Request your Credit Report by Mail: Mail a request form to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
When you receive your report, you should check that it is accurate and includes only those activities that you have authorized. Look for accounts you did not open. Look for inquiries from creditors that you did not initiate. Also look for personal information, such as home address and social security number that is not accurate. If you see anything you do not understand or any inaccuracies, call the credit reporting agency at the telephone number on the credit report.
We also encourage you to place a “fraud alert” on your file when in contact with the credit reporting agencies. A fraud alert is free, and it provides protection to your credit accounts by requiring potential creditors to use reasonable policies and procedures to verify your identity before issuing credit in your name. A fraud alert lasts for 90 days.
Place passwords on your credit card and bank accounts where available. Avoid easily available information like your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, last four digits of your social security number, phone number, or a series of consecutive numbers.
Closely review all credit and bank statements and immediately report any suspicious activity to the institution.
If you do discover a fraud, you should report the incident to the Culpeper Police Department at (540)727-3430. For additional resources on identity theft, please review information found at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or call 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338).
We regret any inconvenience this matter has caused you. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, please call the Town offices at 540-829-8248.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey B. Muzzy
Town Manager
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