14 DAY TRIAL // A removable storage drive containing social security numbers (SSN) belonging to employees of Apple American Group has been lost by someone working for a third-party vendor in charge with improving payroll services for the company.
According to information on its website, Apple American Group is the largest Applebee’s franchisee, administering about 470 restaurant locations across the United States.
Wage and tax statement leaked
The incident occurred while the payroll consultant was travelling and it is likely that the removable storage unit was lost in an airport. It could have been picked by someone, but there is also a chance that the device was discarded to the trash bin, as this is a regular procedure in airports in the case of USB drives.
However, the information it contained was sensitive in nature. Apart from the SSNs, Betsy Mercado from Apple American Group said in a letter disclosing the incident that the drive included the details for the W-2 IRS form, where employers are required to provide data on employees’ names, wages and tax information.
It is recommended to check account statements regularly
The company representative says that at the moment there is no evidence that the data has been used for malicious purposes. Nevertheless, individuals impacted by the incident have been offered complimentary credit monitoring services for a one-year period.
“While misappropriation of your information seems unlikely given the circumstances, we wanted to inform you of this loss. Please know that we value your privacy and deeply regret that this unfortunate incident occurred,” Mercado said.
As is always the case, people whose SSN or other sensitive personal info has been exposed to a third party are advised to keep an eye on credit card account statements and report any fraudulent transaction when spotted.
This would help the card issuing entity place a fraud alert on the account, which is shared with other institutions, and thus prevent further nefarious actions.