Stolen Briefcase Prompts Identity Theft Warning for California Guardsmen

January 21, 2006

By Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer, KXTV News10.net

http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=15487



Personal information on hundreds of California National Guardsmen may have been compromised after a car thief broke into a vehicle and stole a briefcase loaded with personal data on servicemen and women.

A National Guard spokesman said the briefcase was taken from a Guard employee's vehicle January 7 in Sacramento. Officials would not confirm the location of the theft, saying it's possible the thief didn't realize what they had stolen.

In the briefcase was a National Guard seniority roster, including names, Social Security numbers and other personal information of hundreds of National Guardsmen. Not all of California's 1,500 Guardsmen were included on the roster, according to the Guard.

National Guard soldiers were sent a memo about the theft, warning staffers to keep an especially close watch on any possible cases of identity theft.

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