Insurer Data Breach Results in Identity Theft for UC-Irvine Students
Insurer Data Breach Results in Identity Theft for UC-Irvine Students
A data breach at UnitedHealthcare has resulted in 1,132 students at UC-Irvine having their identities stolen, university officials said on Thursday, the Orange County Register reports. Fraudulent tax returns were filed for at least 155 of the affected students.
The identity thefts were revealed in February, after students realized someone was filing fraudulent tax returns with their names and Social Security numbers and collecting refunds.
A criminal investigation is under way in the case, but no arrests have been made, according to UCI spokesperson Cathy Lawhon.
Campus officials could not find the source of the breach until realizing that all affected students were enrolled in a UnitedHealthcare coverage plan.
A spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare said the company would pay for credit monitoring for all affected students and would assist them in other ways.
UC-Irvine has offered to loan money to students affected by the breach, Lawhon said (Fisher, Orange County Register, 6/5).