Reynoldsburg City Schools have informed the parents of 4,259 students that their children’s Social Security number and other identifying information were on a laptop computer that appears to have been stolen from a Reynoldsburg City Schools employee.
In a letter sent to parents Aug. 29, Superintendent Stephen Dackin said the Reynoldsburg Schools administration is working closely with police in hopes of recovering the data. He said he learned on Aug. 27 that student data had been saved on a laptop computer that an employee had reported stolen two days prior.
"A breach of security such as this does not necessarily mean that your child’s identity has been stolen, but it does increase the potential that his or her information could be misused," Dackin said in the letter. "We recommend that you keep a close eye on your child’s credit information."
U.S. residents are entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three national credit reporting agencies. For more information on the free reports, call (877) 322-8228 or visit www.annualcreditreport.com.
Parents also may choose to place a 90-day fraud alert on their children’s credit information. Fraud alerts can be canceled at any time or renewed every 90 days until they feel safe. To place a fraud alert, contact one of the following credit reporting agencies: TransUnion at (800) 680-7289, Equifax at (800) 525-6285 or Experian at (888) 397-3742.
"We have already begun to review our data-handling procedures across the district so that we may better protect our students and their families," Dackin said in the letter.
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