LAKE COUNTY, Calif. –  State officials are continuing to investigate the disappearance of California Department of Child Support Services computer storage devices involving data belonging to more than 800,000 individuals across the state.

The agency reported that on March 12 it learned that its contracted service providers IBM and Iron Mountain Inc. could not locate several specialized computer storage devices that were being transported from IBM's facility in Colorado to California.

Upon arrival in California it was discovered that the devices were missing, the department reported.

Information of agency customers including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, driver license numbers, names of health insurance providers and employers were on the devices and could therefore be affected. The department said the information is gathered to enforce child support cases.

Those who could be affected have been notified by U.S. Mail.

The letters notifying Department of Child Support Services customers arrived in some local mailboxes this week, according to county residents who received the notification.

The delay in notification resulted from needing to confirm that the storage devices were lost, verifying which customers were affected, and then printing and mailing the notifications, state officials reported.

Approximately 2,203 Lake County residents are affected, according to Connie DaMant, assistant director for legislative and external affairs at the California Department of Child Support Services.

The state is emphasizing that the 800,000 people across California who are potentially affected have not been the victims of identity theft.

“Because the devices are in a specialized format, we have no reason to believe, at this time, that the data have been accessed or utilized in any way,” interim Department of Child Support Services Director Kathleen Hrepich said in a written statement.

Hrepich said the incident will not impact the processing of child support cases.

“The rigorous investigation and search for the missing storage devices continues,” said Christine Lally of the California Technology Agency.

Reaching and helping the impacted Department of Child Support Services customers remains the state's top priority, Lally said.

The Department of Child Support Services reported that it has notified the three major U.S. credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – about the incident. The California Attorney General's Office and the Office of Privacy Protection also were notified.

Department of Child Support Services customers are urged to take measures to protect their identities, including placing fraud alerts on credit cards, getting copies of their credit reports from the credit reporting agencies and reviewing health insurance benefit statements.

For more information, potentially affected customers should visit the FAQs page at www.childsup.ca.gov/portals/0/home/docs/MissingStorageDeviceFAQsforChildsup.pdf or call the toll-free hotline at 866-904-7674.

Privacy protection steps for customers also are offered at www.privacy.ca.gov .

Lally said any new developments in the case will be posted on the Department of Child Support Services' Web site at www.childsup.ca.gov .

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .