SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 30, 2016 — On November 4, 2016, Hillary Tentler discovered that her home was broken into that day. Upon discovery, she immediately notified the Santa Barbara CountySheriff’s office and a police report was filed. Unfortunately, along with personal effects, the burglars stole three back up hard drives for her CPA practice.
On November 9, 2016, the Sheriff’s office miraculously caught the burglars and one of the stolen hard drives was located and returned to Ms. Tentler.
Though the unmarked hard drives require specific proprietary software for the files to be readable, Ms. Tentler cannot be certain that the information was not accessed. Accordingly, on November 29, 2016, letters were mailed to all those believed to be potentially affected by the incident. Please contact Ms. Tentler if you did not receive a letter but believe you may have been affected.
If you are an individual Tentler client, the information potentially exposed may have included your:
- Name, date of birth, telephone number(s), address, social security number, all employment (W-2) information, 1099 information (including account number if provided to Tentler CPA), and direct deposit bank account information (including account number and routing information if provided).
If you are an entity Tentler client, the information potentially exposed may have included:
- The company name, Federal Employer Identification Number, address, telephone number along with partner, shareholder/officer or beneficiary names, addresses and social security numbers or Federal Employer Identification Numbers.
Given the potential information involved, Ms. Tentler recommends her clients notify their bank and change their bank account number if this information was provided to her, and that they be vigilant in reviewing their account statements. Clients can call the major credit agencies and place a 90 day fraud alert on their accounts. That contact information is: Equifax (1-888-766-0008; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374), Experian (1-888-397-3742; P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013), and TransUnion (1-800-680-7289; P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA19022-2000). Clients are also entitled to an annual free credit report at: www.annualcreditreport.com. Lastly, Ms. Tentler is offering complimentary identity theft protection to her clients through Epiq.
If you are a Tentler client, please contact toll free number 1-844-319-9623, office number (805) 884-9608, or 735 State Street, Suite 626, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 to discuss any concerns or questions you may have.
SOURCE Hillary Tentler, CPA