Medical Records of 2.2 Million Stolen in Utah

Medical records have been compromised again, potentially putting millions of Utahans at risk for identity theft, and medical and credit fraud.

The Associated Press is reporting today that the billing records of 2.2 million people at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics were stolen Tuesday from a courier's vehicle. The records, stored on backup information tapes, included Social Security numbers of 1.3 million people treated at the university over the past 16 years. The records of people responsible for payment for treatment, such as parents of minors, also were stolen.

A hospital spokesman told the AP that letters will be sent to those affected by the theft and that they will be offered free credit monitoring. The hospital is also offering a $1,000 reward for the return of the records. About 80 percent of the affected 2.2 million people live in Utah or Idaho, hospital officials said.

According to the AP report, the courier picked up the records on June 1. But instead of taking them to a storage center, he worked a second job and then went home. The following day, the courier discovered that someone had broken into his vehicle outside of his home and taken the box, which investigators believe the thief probably thought contained money.

Authorities declined to say how easy or difficult it would be to read the records. But Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder told the Salt Lake City Tribune, “There's no evidence any of the information on the tapes has been accessed.” He added that specialized equipment is needed to view the content of the tapes.

The courier, who worked for Perpetual Storage Inc. for 18 years, was fired.