Somebody please post the full text of the message that Starbucks is sending out about the missing laptop

UPDATE: It's now posted in the first comment. Starbucks employees say in the open thread below that a laptop with 97,000 employees' social security numbers, names and addresses was stolen, and that a message about this theft was sent to the partners. Somebody please post THE FULL TEXT OF THE MESSAGE in the comments below to verify this. 

Comments

[KJ]

I got my letter 2 days ago. I just dont understand why the information would ever be on an easily portable laptop instead of a secure stationary system. I'm just a shift supervisor and don't make much. I doubt anyone would be interested in my income but my credt thats another story. I've worked hard to get it where it is and I don't need some jackass to come along and screw it up. Starbucks should have been a lot more careful about private information about employees. Frankly there are 97,000 of us pissed off about this

I'm sure curious about the date that this laptop was stolen..was it out on a cafe table in um New Orleans? Onward!

[anon.]

Just great I received my letter yesterday telling me that my personal information was on said laptop.

[Darleen]

Darleen- Although I can't conclusively say it had anything to do with this laptop incident, a few days before I got the letter I was informed that somebody tried to open a credit card using my information.

Alex,
Of course I can understand how you feel. I totally agree that there is and should be concern on your part! I am on your side here! Remember I went through the same thing a few years ago and I was very worried. I have excellent credit myself and want to buy a house soon so I know. I feel for you guys, I really do. If it were me, I'd close all of my old accounts and open new ones, just my opinion. I wish all that are affected by this much luck.

[FRO BUX]

this sort of thing happens ALL OF THE TIME. mortgage companies, banks, loan agencies, etc. send these letters out all of the time. If you are knowledgeable and involved in your personal information you will be just fine. Get a credit report and check it monthly and report anything suspicious. You should be doing this anyway!

[another partner]

One of the partners in my store had $700 stolen from his account last week.

[Karen Marcus]

Attorney Advertisement

Finkelstein Thompson LLP is a law firm that represents individuals who have been harmed by unfair business practices. We are currently investigating claims that the personal, financial information of current and former employees of Starbucks Coffee Company (“Starbucks”) have been compromised by a data breach.

If you are a current or former employee of Starbucks and wish to discuss your rights and interests in this matter, please contact us toll-free at (877) 337-1050 or by email at contact@finkelsteinthompson.com. Responding to this advertisement does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship between you and Finkelstein Thompson LLP.

Very truly yours,

Karen Marcus

Finkelstein Thompson LLP
1050 30th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20007
Toll-free telephone: 1-877-337-1050

[PissedShift]

My wife and I got our letters last week. However, something Chucktown Barista posted about a co-workers bank being bled dry within the theft time frame raised my eyebrows. I know personally of 3 partners who have had the EXACT same thing happen to them in the last 30 days. An ASM, a SM and a shift, who were all lunching together. All three banked thru Bank of America, but on the coincidence meter, it's a little wonky to me. I think I may just sign up for that lawsuit, too......

[JoBarista]

Personal information being compromised because a company laptop goes missing/lost/stolen etc., though not something that happens everyday, is not that unusual. It happens for numerous reasons, from theft to plain old occasional stupid attacks, which are hard to guard against in a company the size of SBUX.

Although common sense would seem to dictate that the personal info of almost 100K employees should NEVER be loaded on an easy to steal/lose/compromise company laptop, it happened twice at my last employer......the US Dept. of Homeland Security.

All of the SBUX conspiracy theorists take a deep breath...sure you have an absolute right to be mad, but don't make it more than it is....

[PissedShift]

Sorry, I realized the statement I was drawing from was posted by Worriedaboutgoodcredit, not Chucktown Barista.

[jersey_ss]

This is the second time I am receiving this kind of letter as well. And it doesn't make sense. You would think that they learned from the first incident. I want to know what information was contained on the laptop. And I want to know WHY was this information on a laptop in the first place. This is confidential information that should be accessed by only a few select personnel. I hate to say it but whoever was the owner of the stolen laptop should be immediately terminated. This is just careless.

[me]

I worked for starbucks from 2002-2008. I recently tried to go on unemployment because I was laid off from a job I had for 3 months at another company. When I finally got a hold of EDD I found out there was a problem with my social security number...Someone else was or was trying to use it! While I was on the phone with EDD I typed in Starbucks Social Security number into my computer..I was surprised when an article popped up about four missing laptops in 2006. I immediately emailed Starbucks requesting they send me the letter from 2006 that I never received..they sent it in two days...there was a slight problem with the dates and figures on the letter.. but I overlooked it on account of how fast they sent my information! I enrolled for credit watch thinking this letter was pertaining to the 2006 incident and I was so proud that I could get my letter at the drop of a hat and oh so fast..little did I know that (IT) had happened again. I filed a complaint with the FTC the same day I requested the letter that I thought was for the 2006 incident..here it is below.

I recently tried to collect unemployment and was given an ecn number and told that I had not worked for Starbucks in 2008 under the social security number I gave. I was hassled about my social number and then I called Starbucks. My social security number was on file. When I called the EDD office back on november 19th the representative told me that someone else had been using my social security number to collect benefits and that I would have to send in identification documents to verify my identity. He said that I would probably have to continue to use the ecn number instead of my social security number until they fixed the problem. In 2006 60,000 employees sensitive information including social security numbers went missing from Starbucks. Was this information was ever found? Starbucks never contacted me with information about the incident. After doing some research on the internet I found that I should have received a letter. The links to any of the information pertaining to this case are now void. I believe that EDD is at fault for not matching the name and other info to my social security number before handing it out to someone else. Why didn't Starbucks tell me private information went missing. I never received a letter and now there is something wrong with my social security number. What did Starbucks do to retrieve the missing lap tops. Where are they?

I do want to file a lawsuit! My credit is just as bad as I left it, but I can't collect unemployment because my identity has been stolen!

[me]

I worked for starbucks from 2002-2008. I recently tried to go on unemployment because I was laid off from a job I had for 3 months at another company. When I finally got a hold of EDD I found out there was a problem with my social security number...Someone else was or was trying to use it! While I was on the phone with EDD I typed in Starbucks Social Security number into my computer..I was surprised when an article popped up about four missing laptops in 2006. I immediately emailed Starbucks requesting they send me the letter from 2006 that I never received..they sent it in two days...there was a slight problem with the dates and figures on the letter.. but I overlooked it on account of how fast they sent my information! I enrolled for credit watch thinking this letter was pertaining to the 2006 incident and I was so proud that I could get my letter at the drop of a hat and oh so fast..little did I know that (IT) had happened again. I filed a complaint with the FTC the same day I requested the letter that I thought was for the 2006 incident..here it is below.

I recently tried to collect unemployment and was given an ecn number and told that I had not worked for Starbucks in 2008 under the social security number I gave. I was hassled about my social number and then I called Starbucks. My social security number was on file. When I called the EDD office back on november 19th the representative told me that someone else had been using my social security number to collect benefits and that I would have to send in identification documents to verify my identity. He said that I would probably have to continue to use the ecn number instead of my social security number until they fixed the problem. In 2006 60,000 employees sensitive information including social security numbers went missing from Starbucks. Was this information was ever found? Starbucks never contacted me with information about the incident. After doing some research on the internet I found that I should have received a letter. The links to any of the information pertaining to this case are now void. I believe that EDD is at fault for not matching the name and other info to my social security number before handing it out to someone else. Why didn't Starbucks tell me private information went missing. I never received a letter and now there is something wrong with my social security number. What did Starbucks do to retrieve the missing lap tops. Where are they?

I do want to file a lawsuit! My credit is just as bad as I left it, but I can't collect unemployment because my identity has been stolen!

[Jennifer Rae]

I got mine a few weeks ago... I've been keeping an eye on my accounts and all that fun stuff... nothing weird. WTF??? Has a laptop seriously been stolen a few years before??!? Way to protect your partners....

[me]

Where is everyone? It's like you all went away! Well I'm still here having problems with my social security number.Still haven't received benefits. EDD Fraud hotline confirmed that there is definitely someone else's name attached to my social security number. I sent in identification papers weeks ago..they were also faxed in from the local office. Well if anyone ever comes to this thread take a look at this....

SSN-only ID theft -- also called synthetic ID fraud

There are an estimated nine million illegal aliens living in the U.S., according to Census Bureau statistics. In order to work and obtain credit, they need Social Security numbers — something they cannot obtain legitimately because of their illegal immigrant status. But a fake number isn't hard to get. "There's a very good black market that has fostered this," says Richard Hamp, Utah Assistant Attorney General. "You can buy a Social Security card on the street for $20."

Fake cards are produced and sold by organized crime groups, which generate Social Security numbers and sell them to illegal immigrants with their own names on the card. Right now, for example, Utah authorities are investigating a company that offers commercial and mortgage loans, health insurance and debt consolidation, which is distributing advertising that reads "If you don't have a Social Security number, you also qualify." According to Ron Ingleby, resident agent in charge of Utah, Montana and Wyoming for the Social Security Administration's Office of Inspector General, the company allegedly supplies the immigrants with the numbers they need. The numbers, however, often belong to real people.

The result can be a bizarre form of identity theft. Traditional theft typically involves a person stealing someone's name and identification and then racking up huge debts under that name.

But with Social Security-number (SSN)-only theft, oftentimes abusers have no intent of stealing anybody's good credit. They simply want the number so they can work and establish their own lines of credit — in their own name. In essence, two separate identities are created from one Social Security number.

taken from smartmoney.com - Aleksandra Todorova

MORE>>>>>>

Can't be spotted in credit reports

SSN-only ID theft -- also called synthetic ID fraud -- is often undetectable because of the way credit bureaus store data and release it to consumers. Free credit reports ordered by consumers don’t reveal all credit history entries connected to a Social Security number. Only entries that precisely match a consumer's name, Social Security number and other personal information appear on such reports. Accounts opened using the consumer's number but a different name are often omitted, according to the bureaus. That means SSN-only theft, like Harrison’s, can be almost impossible to detect.

Check mySSN.com-Bob Sullivan

Funny how a DM or RRDO or whoever has the privileged of getting a laptop can just walk in the store put ALL of company confidential down on a table in the cafe free for anyone to grab and never get into any trouble. Maybe they need to think of how their actions negatively affect the partner. Let's face it we never pay close attention to there stuff when they come in. We are to busy wetching our ass so they can't ream us for some little crap.

[Tony]

Hey Ladies and Gents,
I, too, was employed by the Bux during yet another lost laptop fiasco. I'm writing because I need the Equifax info off the back of that infamous letter if anything could send/post it for me.
Thanks for your help,
Tony 133****