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Local pensioners' details
on stolen laptop
26.08.08
"It leaves you feeling
very uneasy"
PERSONAL details of social welfare recipients in
Inishowen were stored on a laptop that went missing
from a Government office last year, it's emerged.
The names included a number of pensioners from
Buncrana who received letters last week from the
Department of Social and Family Affairs outlining
what happened.
It was revealed recently that 16 laptops belonging
to the Comptroller and Auditor General had been
stolen since 1999. Three of these laptops had been
identified as containing data that could, if
improperly disclosed, be misused. |
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"One Buncrana
pensioner, who did not want to be identified, said
she has been left feeling vulnerable after receiving
the letter from the department.
"I hope the thieves didn't get anything they can
use. I get my pension every week at the post office
so I don't think they had my bank details on the
laptop. But you wonder how people working for the
Government could be that careless."
The letter from the Department of Social and Family
Affairs' director general, Niamh O'Donoghue,
informed the Buncrana pensioner that her name,
address, PPS number, payment and other personal |
information including date of birth and marital
status, were on the stolen laptop.
The letter states: "A period of 16 months has passed
since the event occurred. The department has no
evidence that customer information has been misused
or compromised in any way. It is unlikely that your
information has therefore been misused." The letter
urges people who may have suspicions about the
misuse of their details to ring a freefone helpline
1800 690 590.
But the Buncrana pensioner said she has not been
altogether reassured by the letter. "Maybe the
Government should not keep sensitive details about
people on laptop computers because they're easier to
steal. You lose a bit of confidence in the
department and at the back of your mind you're
uneasy that the thieves might steal from you some
day." |
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