Police: Health Dept. Theft May Have Been An Inside Job

An investigation is under way after city health workers' personal information was stolen.

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Published: January 22, 2010

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An investigation is under way after hundreds of city health workers' personal information was stolen -- and police say it may have been an inside job.

According to Columbus Public Health Spokesman Jose Rodriguez, the department emailed employees Friday morning about the stolen information which contained names and Social Security numbers. The memo stated, in part that the department is, "deeply saddened by this breach of trust."

Employees will be given a year of identity theft protection.

"We are providing (employees) with 12 months of identity theft protection for those people that choose to take advantage of that opportunity," Rodriguez said.

According to Columbus Police Sgt. Rich Weiner, investigators have identified a person of interest in connection with the stolen information.

Weiner said the person of interest was an employee within the department over the past three years. He said current employees and those who previously worked at the department within the last three years may be affected.

Officials said they are investigating the intended use of the stolen information, adding that they do not know if the information was stolen for personal use or to be sold.

The health department has keycard machines on inside doors that should only be accessed by employees, and a keycard is required to get into the outside employee entrance as well.

Police said no CPH employees have reported identity theft at this point and no suspicious activity has been reported.

Police and Columbus Public Health are encouraging employees to check their credit reports and place fraud alerts on their files with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

"They've been briefed on exactly what to do, what to look for over their financial information to make sure that there were no accounts opened fraudulent or suspicious in nature," Weiner said.

Police said no arrests have been made and no charges have been filed, but the investigation is ongoing.

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