A police sergeant at the University of Central Missouri and his wife were arrested for identity theft in a case that involves the stolen Social Security numbers of 7,000 students and alumni, according to KansasCity.com.
James Drake, 45, was arrested and charged with fraud, use of credit device and filing a false police report. His wife, 30-year-old Amanda Drake, who does not work for the university, is being charged with forgery.
While police were investigating Amanda Drake on warrants involving passing bad checks, they recovered stolen computer printouts with the names, Social Security numbers, addresses and telephone numbers of students who had attended the school during the summers of 2005 and 2006. Neither suspect, however, has been charged with the theft of the printouts, police said.
The printouts were produced by the Student Affairs Office. However, police declined to state which office the printouts were actually stolen from, except to stay that the documents were stolen from the university. University officials said there did not appear to any breach of the university’s computer system.
Additionally, police said about 12 people may have had their information used for fraudulent purposes. Those individuals have been contacted by police; however, it is unclear how much money was involved in the alleged fraud.
University officials contacted all of the other people listed on the printout by mail or E-mail. Additionally, the school has offered enrollment in a 12-month program for identity theft protection and credit monitoring. The university will pay the cost of enrollment for those who could be affected by the suspected theft.
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