865 Pa. taxpayers may have potentially compromised data

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WTXF) - Almost a thousand people who paid their Pennsylvania state income tax may have had their personal information compromised because of a car break-in.

Now, "in an abundance of caution," the Department of Revenue is mailing letters to those 865 taxpayers about free credit monitoring services and fraud protections it'll offer.

The letter says late last month, department auditors were in San Francisco to conduct a routine audit.

That's when "thieves smashed the windows of several parked vehicles, including the auditors' locked rental vehicle, stealing four laptop computers. The employees immediately began working with law enforcement and notified the department. The stolen laptops have not been recovered."

The department followed up and found "some procedures to secure data may not have been followed with one laptop."

That stolen laptop contained personally identifiable information for 865 taxpayers.

Those taxpayers will get a year of free credit monitoring with credit reporting agency Experian, so they'll be notified of key changes in their credit reports and identify theft insurance.

The department will not call people involved. The notice in the mail will inform them of the protections and next steps.

The department says its computer network has not been accessed or hacked, and remains secure.