WISCONSIN STOLEN COMPUTER CONTAINED TEACHERS' PERSONAL DATA JS Online: MPS teachers' private data taken

MPS teachers' private data taken

Stolen computer raises ID theft fears

By DANI McCLAIN
dmcclain@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Feb. 12, 2008

Half of Milwaukee Public Schools teachers are at risk for identity theft after a computer containing their names, Social Security numbers, birthdates and addresses was stolen, a teachers union spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association staffers have received about a dozen calls since last weekend, when affected teachers received a letter from Administrative Systems Inc., a Seattle-based third-party administrator on contract with their insurance company, alerting them of a security breach that occurred in late December.

"The calls we're getting are questions about how to deal with this annoyance," said Pat O'Mahar, a union spokesman. "Any time there's any kind of risk to your credit rating, people are concerned."

Around 3,000 MPS teachers are affected by the theft because they're enrolled in a group disability insurance plan underwritten by the Union Security Insurance Company, said Pam Schiefelbein, a local plan administrator. The teachers' personal information wasstolen from Administrative Systems Inc., which contracts with Union Security and others in the insurance and financial services industries.

Officials for Union Security and Administrative Systems could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon.

In a letter dated February 2008, Administrative Systems President William Hill urges the teachers to contact a consumer credit reporting agency and place a fraud alert on their credit reports.

"We suggest that you remain vigilant over the next 12 to 24 months by reviewing your financial account statements and monitoring your credit reports to minimize your potential risk of identitytheft or fraud," the letter reads.

The Seattle Police Department is investigating the incident, according to the letter. The detective investigating the case could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

O'Mahar of MTEA said he was told that the lag between the December theft and notification of Milwaukee teachers occurred at the request of Seattle police.