A laptop containing the personal information of about 6,000 people was stolen from a Baltimore County health center, a health department spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The computer did not contain medical informationm but did have names, date of birth, social security numbers, telephone numbers and emergency contact information. The personal information was from patients who were seen at the clinic between Jan. 1, 2004 and April 12.
Letters have been sent out to the 6,000, advising them of the availability of free credit checks provided by the three major credit reporting agencies and saying the risk of identity theft was low because the file containing the information was protected by passwords and other security safeguards.
Monique Lyle, a spokeswoman for the county health department, said the computer, which was stolen April 16, has not been recovered, but no one has reported any identity theft or other problems related to the theft.