Physics
May 13, 2005
Dear Cal Poly Student:
I am writing to inform you of a situation that could affect you. On May 10, 2005, Professor Chance Hoellwarth, Physics Department, reported that his home had been broken into and some items stolen. He indicated that a compact flash disk is missing that contained his class lists which had names and social security numbers of seventy-seven students from his Fall 2004 PSc 101-01, Winter 2005 PSc 102-01, and Winter 2005 Phys X141-54 classes. The names and social security numbers were for students who were on the initial class lists. Students who added the course are not affected as social security numbers were not requested and were not on the missing disk. This incident has been reported to the San Luis Obispo Police Department (case #050508055) for investigation of the crime.
While there is no indication that your private information was accessed, we are sending you this information consistent with California Civil Code 1798.29, commonly referred to as SB 1386. We consider any breach of our computer security as a serious matter.
While we cannot advise you on how to proceed, one option you have is to contact one of the credit reporting agencies, each of which has an automated phone-in fraud alert process. To understand the effects of a fraud alert, please visit this Fact Sheet on Credit Freeze and Fraud Alerts.
Contact information for the credit agencies is listed below:
- Equifax 800.5256285 http://www.equifax.com/
- Experian 888.397.3742 http://www.experian.com/
- Trans Union 800.680.7289 http://www.transunion.com/
Once you receive your credit reports, review them for any suspicious activity. If you see any accounts you did not open or incorrect personal information, call the credit bureau(s) or your local law enforcement agency (e.g., city police department) to file a report of identity theft. The following resources can provide additional information about identity theft:
- California Attorney General's Office - http://caag.state.ca.us/idtheft/tips.htm
- The Federal Trade Commission - http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft
- California Office of Privacy Protection
As indicated above, the Physics Department, College of Science and Mathematics, and Cal Poly take security of personal data seriously. Steps have been taken to strengthen the security of this information. The University is in the process of removing the social security number from the class list report data base. In the interim, our department staff has been notified that social security numbers must be deleted from all class list reports prior to distribution to faculty. We regret any inconvenience this situation may cause you.
Should you have any questions about this event you may contact Pam Parsons, Budget and Resource Analyst, College of Science and Mathematics at 805-756-1667 or pparsons@calpoly.edu , or Vicki Stover, Campus Information Security Officer at 805-756-2171 or tvahey@calpoly.edu .
Sincerely,
Philip S. Bailey, Dean, College of Science and Mathematics
