DES MOINES, Iowa — The personal information of nearly 5,000 Dallas County residents was compromised two months ago when Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) case files were improperly disposed of, according to a DHS statement released Friday.
The data breach occurred Nov. 25, 2019, when contract custodians mistakenly emptied boxes filled with documents meant for shredding into a DHS dumpster. By the time the breach was detected, the dumpster’s contents, including the unshredded case files, had been hauled away, the DHS said.
The DHS said the social work case files contained personal information of 4,784 Dallas County residents, potentially including people’s names, mailing addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, driver’s licence numbers, banking or wage information, disability information, medical information, Medicaid receipts, mental health information, provider information, substance abuse information, illegal drug use information or prescription drug information.
The DHS said it has notified everyone whose information may have been compromised and has not yet received any reports of misused information as a consequence of the data breach.
The DHS said clients concerned their identity might be stolen can call TransUnion Credit Bureau at 855-288-5422.
