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 current OUSD employees.
We deeply regret that this incident occurred and sincerely apologize for the concern and inconvenience this situation may cause. Rest assured that we are working diligently with law enforcement agencies to apprehend the responsible individuals and to ensure that personal information is not abused. We have notified the FBI and the Alameda County District Attorney, and continue to work with both the Oakland Police Department and our own Oakland School Police Department. In addition, we have mailed certified letters to employees who may have been affected, detailing steps they can take to guard against potential misuse of personal information. These letters should arrive early on the week of September 8.
If you are an employee who receives a letter, there is a possibility that your personal information may be misused and we suggest that you closely monitor your credit report for the next several months in order to detect any unauthorized use of your personal information. We are currently working with the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to arrange for potentially affected parties to monitor their credit reports free-of-charge for a set period of time. We will provide those parties with more information about this service within the next ten business days.
In the meantime, please know that if you are concerned about potential fraud or identity theft, you can request to have a free 90-day fraud alert placed on your credit file. This lets potential creditors and others know that you may be a victim of identity theft. A fraud alert can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures that will protect you. It may also, however, delay your ability to obtain credit. You may place a fraud alert in your file by calling any one of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies or by requesting a fraud alert online. As soon as the agency processes your fraud alert, it will notify the other two, which then must also place fraud alerts in your file.
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com
Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; www.transunion.com
Under current law, you are already allowed one free copy of your credit report per year from any one of the three agencies listed above. If you have not already reviewed your credit report this year, it is a good idea to do so. 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.
Again, we will be in touch in approximately ten business days with information about how you can access your personal credit report free of charge. In the meantime, we apologize once more for the anxiety and difficulty posed by this situation.
