An employee at the Hot Springs campus of the VA Black Hills Health Care System in South Dakota (http://www.blackhills.va.gov) has thrown into a trash bin the records of more than 1,100 patients that contain Social Security numbers and other personal information. The VA Black Hills Health Care System blamed the breach on an employee who mistakenly tossed the patient files into a dumpster on May 15 during a regular office move. The records were found two days later by another employee who fished them out of the trash and notified hospital security guards. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has alerted the 1,100 military veterans of the breach by letter. The letter informed recipients they could request a free credit report to ensure their personal data was not being misused.
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