OREGON COMPUTERS STOLEN FROM H and R BLOCK CONTAINING PERSONAL CLIENT DATAKATU 2 - Portland, OregonMay 11, 2004
ID theft warning issued after theft of H&R Block computers



SALEM, Ore. - Tax season just got a little scarier for Salem-area taxpayers.
Thieves stole computers from an H&R Block's district office in northeast Salem. The computers held confidential information about more than 40,000 Salem-area taxpayers.

H&R Block has sent letters to its clients to tell them about the April 23 break-in.

Company spokeswoman Denise Sposato said only the client's first and last name, middle initial, street address and ZIP code are easily readable in the computer files. The rest of the information is "compressed," and reading it requires proprietary software that was not stored on the servers, she said.

"We think the risk (of identity theft) is minimal," she said.

Nevertheless, H&R Block has included information in its letter about taking precautions to avoid identify theft, such as contacting credit bureaus and placing a fraud alert on credit files.

"It's a big deal because of the atmosphere around identify theft," said Ron Bersin, executive director of the Oregon State Board of Tax Practitioners, which regulates tax preparers.

An estimated 9.9 million Americans per year are victims of identity theft, the federal government says. Oregon has the 10th-highest complaint rate for identity theft.

The fast-growing crime can leave the credit records of victims in shambles.

Bersin, who has discussed the burglary with H&R Block officials, said the company took appropriate steps to protect client information.

"In this day and age, is anything secure?" said Bersin, who said the information contained in tax returns could be a bonanza for identify thieves.

In January, H&R Block had a similar theft of computer gear from one of its offices in Sacramento, Calif. More than 50,000 Sacramento-area H&R Block customers received letters notifying them that a computer containing client information was stolen