Monday, November 05, 2007
Team 5 Investigates Confirms 10,000 Employees At Risk
Team 5 Investigates Confirms 10,000 Employees At Risk
POSTED: 3:23 pm EDT October 16, 2007
UPDATED: 5:38 pm EDT October 16, 2007
BOSTON -- Team 5 Investigates has confirmed that a Home Depot laptop containing the personal information of 10,000 employees has been stolen from the home of a worker in Massachusetts.
NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported Tuesday that employees nationwide are potentially impacted.
Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement store.
The retailer tells Team 5 Investigates it is confident that this personal information was not the thief's target, but that is little consolation to thousands of Home Depot workers, including Anthony Garro, of Salem. He and his wife both received letters from Home Depot headquarters in Atlanta telling them that their personal information may be in the wrong hands.
"They can get your Social Security number, date of birth, you know. They can open up an account, anything," Garro said.
Garro is currently on disability, but has worked for Home Depot for approximately eight years in the hardware and millwork departments.
Team 5 Investigates has confirmed that the laptop was stolen from the personal car of an unnamed Massachusetts employee, while the car was parked at his residence. Home Depot will not disclose the city or town.
When asked if he is worried about his personal information being stolen, Garro said, "Definitely,"
"How did it get missing? Who did it? Sure, they're investigating it, but they're not letting us know," he said.
The letter from Home Depot said, "Recently, a password protected laptop was stolen, which may have contained your name, SSN and in some cases, your address."
Home Depot said it regrets any inconvenience and is offering free credit monitoring for a year.
The home improvement giant is just the latest organization to lose personal data via a stolen laptop. The Transportation Security Administration, Yale University, Veterans Affairs Administration are among those hit recently, leaving tens of thousands of people nationwide to watch their accounts, and wait for any sign of misuse.
"It's their problem, it's their fault," Garro said. "Why should we have to go online, take our time to do everything? I think that's wrong."
So far, Home Depot said they know of no efforts to misuse these employees' personal information. They are cooperating with police here in Massachusetts, hoping to recover this stolen laptop.
POSTED: 3:23 pm EDT October 16, 2007
UPDATED: 5:38 pm EDT October 16, 2007
BOSTON -- Team 5 Investigates has confirmed that a Home Depot laptop containing the personal information of 10,000 employees has been stolen from the home of a worker in Massachusetts.
NewsCenter 5's Sean Kelly reported Tuesday that employees nationwide are potentially impacted.
Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement store.
The retailer tells Team 5 Investigates it is confident that this personal information was not the thief's target, but that is little consolation to thousands of Home Depot workers, including Anthony Garro, of Salem. He and his wife both received letters from Home Depot headquarters in Atlanta telling them that their personal information may be in the wrong hands.
"They can get your Social Security number, date of birth, you know. They can open up an account, anything," Garro said.
Garro is currently on disability, but has worked for Home Depot for approximately eight years in the hardware and millwork departments.
Team 5 Investigates has confirmed that the laptop was stolen from the personal car of an unnamed Massachusetts employee, while the car was parked at his residence. Home Depot will not disclose the city or town.
When asked if he is worried about his personal information being stolen, Garro said, "Definitely,"
"How did it get missing? Who did it? Sure, they're investigating it, but they're not letting us know," he said.
The letter from Home Depot said, "Recently, a password protected laptop was stolen, which may have contained your name, SSN and in some cases, your address."
Home Depot said it regrets any inconvenience and is offering free credit monitoring for a year.
The home improvement giant is just the latest organization to lose personal data via a stolen laptop. The Transportation Security Administration, Yale University, Veterans Affairs Administration are among those hit recently, leaving tens of thousands of people nationwide to watch their accounts, and wait for any sign of misuse.
"It's their problem, it's their fault," Garro said. "Why should we have to go online, take our time to do everything? I think that's wrong."
So far, Home Depot said they know of no efforts to misuse these employees' personal information. They are cooperating with police here in Massachusetts, hoping to recover this stolen laptop.
Labels: Home Depot, Team 5 Investigates
