Quick Take
Several Watsonville Community Hospital employees reported they’ve become victims of identity theft after being notified their tax returns were rejected by the Internal Revenue Service. Hospital officials say identity theft incidents have not been confirmed to be connected to a cyberattack last November.
Several employees at Watsonville Community Hospital have reported that they’ve become victims of identity theft months after the hospital was the target of a cyberattack.
Hospital officials say nearly 20 employees have so far reported fraudulent tax filings in their names after they were notified that their tax returns had been rejected by the Internal Revenue Service.
The hospital first began to receive notification from employees last week, hospital spokesperson Nancy Gere said via email.
“We have reports of employees experiencing no issues with their IRS returns, and we have reports from some employees that they have learned someone has filed a return on their behalf,” Gere told Lookout.
The hospital has not received calls from patients experiencing issues with filing their taxes, said Gere. The fraudulent tax filings have not been confirmed to be linked to the cyberattack last November, which shut down the hospital’s internet connection and electronic systems used for patient charts and prescriptions.
Gere said the hospital’s investigation into the cyberattack remains ongoing. The hospital has reported the attack to the FBI, along with state and federal privacy regulators. The hospital also sent out a letter to employees earlier in the week that said it will provide workers with free credit monitoring and identity recovery services, which help with improving credit and removing fraudulent accounts, for a year.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we informed employees that we would begin the process of offering every employee with resources to protect their information,” Gere said.
In December, the hospital said it had notified several patients that their personal information, like names, birthdates, Social Security numbers and diagnosis information, could have been compromised following the cyberattack.
The cyberattack caused the hospital’s internet connection and electronic systems to shut down for almost a week. Hospital workers had to rely on paper patient charts and prescriptions, causing delays in its emergency room.
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here.