The Forsyth County tax commissioner said he thinks last month's inadvertent release of thousands of taxpayer social security numbers has been contained.
Commissioner Matthew C. Ledbetter said in a letter posted to the Forsyth County website he became aware of the release of 20,000 social security numbers on November 18. The letter says the information went to two authorized parties who had requested other non-confidential tax digest information.
"This data did not contain dates of birth, driver's license numbers, nor any other form of confidential information," Ledbetter wrote.
He said neither of the two companies used the social security numbers.
"Our Office has received documented confirmation from each of the two parties that neither has used the social security number information," the letter stated.
Ledbetter said the information release had nothing to do with a cyber attack or hack, and he said the county's data systems were in no way compromised.
While Ledbetter said he thinks taxpayer information is safe, his office will offer free credit monitoring services to affected property owners for the next 12 months.
"In partnership with ID Experts® a toll-free incident hotline and website have been established to provide assistance and answer any questions citizens may have. We are also providing to those affected complimentary MyIDCare™ services - which include 12 free months of credit monitoring, a $1,000,000 insurance reimbursement policy, exclusive educational materials, and fully managed ID theft recovery services," Ledbetter said in his letter. "I encourage all concerned to contact ID Experts and (if eligible) take full advantage of this offer."
The offer is open through March 20, 2017.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/12/483155/forsyth-county-tax-commissioner-says-accidental-release-of-social-security-numbers-has-been-contained