CALIFORNIA BAKERSFIELD KERN COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH OFFICE LAPTOP COMPUTER STOLEN WITH VALUABLE DATA LOST theBakersfieldchannel.com - News - Thieves Use Stolen Laptop To Gain Personal InformationWoman Charged For Medical Care She Didn't Receive

POSTED: 6:45 p.m. PDT May 14, 2004
UPDATED: 9:45 p.m. PDT May 14, 2004

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Thieves have obtained access to personal information of 110,000 people from a stolen county computer, according to officials.

They could already be using one woman's Social Security number for medical treatment.

Kim Braverman was shocked to get a statement from Medicare that showed she was being billed for medical services at KMC -- services she never received. Apparently, someone used her Social Security number to get a chest X-ray and bill it to Medicare.

Braverman suspects someone got her personal information from a laptop computer stolen from the Kern County Mental Health Office on Dec. 2 of last year. During the night, thieves pried open a door to the office and stole televisions and even loose change.

The laptop was left overnight because it was downloading a special report that contained the personal information of 110,000 people. It held information of anyone who had received service through the department in the past 10 years, including Braverman.

Medicare sent KMC a letter warning of the fraud, and Braverman won't have to pay. But the thieves are still out there with the computer, and if you have gone to KMC Mental Services in the past decade, they likely have access to information about you.
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