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2,000 California birth certificates found in unsecure location
California public health officials are trying to find out how 2,000 state birth records were found on on a microfiche reel in an unsecure location. The records contain names, addresses, Social Security numbers and some medical information.
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Frédéric Bisson/ Flickr Creative Commons
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If you were born in 1974 in one of several California counties, officials say your Social Security and other personal information may have been at risk.
California public health officials are trying to find out how 2,000 state birth records were found on on a microfiche reel in an unsecure location. The records contain names, addresses, Social Security numbers and some medical information.
The records are from 1974 and span from the months of May through September.
"It only affects you if you were born during those months in 1974 in one of nine counties." said Anita Gore, spokeswoman with the California Department of Public Health. "And those counties would be Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Cruz Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, or Tehama counties."
Gore would not offer details about where the records were found, or who found them. But says it appears to be an isolated incident.
"We encourage people who have been affected by this to obtain a free credit report to monitor their credit," Gore said.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the matter.
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"We regret that this information has been compromised," said Dr. Ron Champan, CDPH director and state health officer in a statement. "We take the breach of any personal information very seriously and are committed to improving our security systems."
If you believe your birth certificate info is may be contained in the film, you can call CDPH at (855) 737-1796, between 8:00 a.m. through 5:00p.m. Monday through Friday, or email 1974birth@cdph.ca.gov.
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