GM says 883 retiree records were copied
No cases of identity theft reported
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DETROIT -- Social security numbers and other personal information belonging to 883 former and current General Motors retirees was taken after a salaried GM employee copied documents containing the information just before retiring, The Detroit News reported today.
The now-retired employee downloaded documents containing the people’s names and information, but there haven’t been any cases of identity fraud resulting from the incident, GM said.
"GM has completed an investigation of this incident and is contacting the affected individuals to inform them of precautionary steps they can take to protect against possible identity fraud," GM said in a statement.
During the course of the investigation, GM found that a file had been deleted from the employee’s computer, according to a letter dated July 27 that was sent to one of the affected retirees, The News reported.
"We believe that no further copies of such data were made or distributed to other persons, though we cannot be certain of this," the letter read, according to The News. Still, the company recommended that affected employees alert the major credit bureaus to potential fraud and to vigilantly monitor their credit reports for the next year to look for any unexpected changes.
In the letter, GM reiterated that these types of incidents are rare, but it said it’s working to prevent similar occurrences and is “continually modifying its systems and practices to enhance the security of sensitive information,” according to The News.
You can reach Joseph Lichterman at jlichterman@crain.com.
