28,000 people could now have their identity in jeopardy because of a missing laptop. It's called a Panasonic Tough Book. It was lost at CMC Northeast on Sunday.
WBTV's Tom Roussey reports from the hospital in Concord that there is a reward offered.
They are offering a $500 reward for anyone who can get them this computer back.
There are 28,000 names, addresses and social security numbers on that computer.
What happened was a paramedic left the computer on the back bumper of the ambulance right here at CMC Northeast and then drove away. The computer hasn't been seen since.
If there's any good news in this, it is that all of that personal information is protected by two different passwords, so if someone who's not a computer expert has found it then they won't know how to get to the information.
Cabarrus County Spokesperson Aimee Hawkins said, "The general public would probably have difficulty accessing the information, but anyone who has advanced programming skills could crack the passwords and get to the information."
The county says it is starting a new system where EMS laptops will no longer have all that private information on their hard drive.
That was planned even before this happened.
We are told that letters have been sent out to all 28,000 people whose information is on that computer and the county is apologizing to them.