Around 53 West Virginia University students’ personal information was available to others following an “operational error” during a routine update of tax information Jan. 15.
The students’ 1098-T forms, which include their Social Security number and tax identification numbers, among others, were uploaded to the University’s 1098-T Web site. The forms are distributed to WVU students who are U.S. citizens who paid tuition during the 2009 calendar year. They can be used to claim federal tax credit.
Students can typically access their forms on the site for tax purposes, but the error made the information viewable to any WVU student on the site.
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University Spokesman John Bolt said the information was visible for less than 90 minutes. …. Affected students were immediately notified of the situation individually, Bolt said.
Read more in WVU’s student publication, The Daily Athenaeum.