IE11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

County Department Issues Warning Following Unauthorized Access

The local government has let some residents know their personal information may be compromised.

Following a breach into the Tehama County Department of Social Services databanks, the county is warning some community members their personal information may be misused.

An unauthorized party gained access to the county’s IT network between Nov. 18, 2021, and April 9, according to a Nov. 16 letter the county sent to affected residents. The investigation further determined that the unauthorized party accessed files on Social Services’ systems.

The county said it first learned about the incident on April 9 when it detected suspicious activity on the IT systems. The county immediately took steps to protect and secure its systems upon identifying this suspicious activity.

According to the county, an investigation was launched, and law enforcement was notified. A review of the incident let the county learn that files containing residents’ personal information were accessed. This information included a person’s name, date of birth, mailing address, Social Security number, driver’s license number and information related to services received from Social Services.

As of Nov. 16, the county has not received any reports of fraud related to this incident. To help prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future, the county has implemented enhanced monitoring and alerting software.

The county is recommending those affected by this incident remain vigilant about the possibility of fraud by reviewing their financial account statements. It continued by saying residents should immediately report suspicious activity to their financial institution.

In addition, the county is offering affected residents a complimentary one-year membership to Experian Identity Works Credit 3B.

For more information about this incident, please call (855) 926-1376 between 6 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding major U.S. holidays.

©2022 Red Bluff Daily News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.