Nearly 20,000 Social Security Numbers Released By Forsyth County

CUMMING, GA — The Social Security numbers of nearly 20,000 Forsyth County taxpayers were accidentally released in an error discovered more than a month ago but just announced this week.

In a letter that began arriving in homes Monday, Forsyth County Tax Commissioner Matthew C. Ledbetter said the mistake was discovered on November 18.

According to the letter, a portion of the county's property tax digest that included "the social security numbers of some county property owners" was sent to two recipients who had been authorized to receive non-confidential digest information.

"This accidental release was not due to any form of hack, cyber-attack or other malicious activity and Forsyth County’s data systems have in no manner been compromised," the letter reads.

The data did not contain dates of birth, driver's license numbers or any other form of confidential information, Ledbetter said.

The error was brought to the tax commissioner's attention by one of the recipients when they received the information.

Since discovering the mistake, the tax commissioner's office has received documented confirmation that neither party that received the data has used the Social Security information. Both confirmed that they neither wanted, nor had use for, that information, the letter says.

One of the recipients, however, downloaded the file and transmitted it to three business affiliates. Each of those affiliates has confirmed deleting the file, according to Ledbetter.

"While I am confident this inadvertent release has been contained, I also recognize the very serious nature of this error," Ledbetter wrote. "For this oversight I personally take full responsibility and I sincerely apologize for the concern and inconvenience this may cause our citizens.

"I have taken measures to ensure errors of this type do not happen again and will continuously evaluate our practices and procedures to safeguard the integrity of your information."

A letter, dated December 16, has been sent to all homeowners impacted by the release.

The county has partnered with a private ID monitoring company to create a website and toll-free hotline devoted to the incident.

They also are providing 12 free months of credit monitoring, a $1 million insurance reimbursement policy, educational materials and other ID theft recovery services.

The deadline to enroll is March 20.

For more information or to determine eligibility for the complimentary services, call 1-844-256-8540 or visit the Forsyth County incident website.