VIRGINIA (UPDATE) COMPUTER STOLEN http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20101023/NEWS01/10230335

Accomack fields concerns after theft of laptop

BY CAROL VAUGHN • STAFF WRITER • OCTOBER 23, 2010

ACCOMAC -- The theft from a Las Vegas hotel room of a county-owned laptop computer containing personal information about thousands of county residents was on the minds of officials at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, including the Rev. Donald Broad, who included the incident in his invocation.

"Lord, protect us from the theft of our personal information," Broad prayed, asking the Almighty for patience on the part of residents until the situation is resolved.

County Administrator Steve Miner said his office has fielded about 120 calls from concerned residents since news of the incident was made public last week.

Accomac resident Bob Gresham thanked officials for the extra time employees worked to determine the extent and nature of the information that had been compromised, but he said the effects of the incident "could follow certain citizens for the rest of their life."

Toni Trepanier of Hallwood called the situation "grave" and said it was "absolutely reckless" of county employee Joshua Taylor to have taken the computer to Las Vegas during a vacation.

Shirley Zamora of Onancock asked county officials to advocate with the state against Social Security numbers being used for identification purposes. The identification numbers in the files on the stolen computer came from Department of Motor Vehicles or other registering agencies' information, county attorney Mark Taylor said.

Joshua Taylor resigned this week following the Oct. 7 theft.

The stolen computer, which was password-protected, contained files related to personal property tax rolls, with personal information including names and Social Security or driver's license numbers of up to 35,000 county residents. Addresses apparently were not included in the files.

No one has been apprehended in the theft, which is under investigation by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. There have been no reports as of yet of anyone's personal information being accessed or used fraudulently, according to county officials.

Residents are advised to call the county and not to respond if anyone calls or e-mails asking for personal information, saying actual county representatives do not send e-mails or make calls asking for such information.

Taylor said officials will update a frequently asked questions document about the theft on the county website, www.co. accomack.va.us, as new information about the incident is received.