Dear OUSD Staff,
During the evening of September 2, 2008, individuals broke into the District’s Human Resources Department. In spite of the fact that the area was secured, the intruders were able to take several desktop computers which may have contained the personal information of a limited number of OUSD employees. At this point, we have identified the employees that we believe are most directly impacted and we will be sending a certified letter to those individuals at their home address.
Rest assured that we are diligently working with law enforcement agencies to apprehend the responsible individuals and to ensure that your personal information is not misused. We have notified the FBI and the Alameda County District Attorney, in addition to continuing to work with both the Oakland Police Department and our own Oakland School Police Department.
Because there is a possibility that the scope of individuals affected may go beyond what we have identified so far, we suggest that you may want to monitor your credit report for the next several months in order to detect any unauthorized use of your personal information. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act provides for anyone residing in the United States and its possessions to receive three free credit reports a year at Annualcreditreport.com. Through the site, or by phoning the toll-free 1-877-322-8228, you can get one report each year from each of the three major credit reporting companies — Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. (The hearing impaired can use the TDD service at 18777304104). If you have not already reviewed your credit report this year, it is a good idea to do so.
Some indicators of identity theft are: (a) Charges on your accounts that you did not authorize; (b) You are denied credit due to poor credit ratings, despite good credit history; (c) You are contacted by creditors regarding amounts owed for goods or services that you never authorized; (d) Your credit card and bank statements are not received in the mail as expected; and (e) A new or renewed credit card is not received. If you suspect that you are the victim of identity theft, you should immediately contact the police and the fraud departments of the three major credit reporting bureaus to place fraud alerts on your credit file.
Thank your for your understanding as we continue to investigate and address the concerns created by this unfortunate situation.
