Computer with Patients’ Personal Information Stolen

HARLINGEN - Thousands of people throughout the Rio Grande Valley are in a vulnerable position because of a burglary.
Sunglo Home Health Services has thousands of patients across the Valley. Their personal information is in the hands of a Harlingen burglar.
He walked away with sensitive information and it was all caught on surveillance video.
Steven Means with Sunglo Home Health Services said, “We're covering from Rio Grande City all the way to Brownsville - including Raymondville as well.”
He said their patients include the elderly and the disabled. The company drives patients across the Valley in their vans. The vans are kept in a parking lot at the corporate office in Harlingen.
Means said the parking lot was the scene of a burglary early Monday morning.
Harlingen police said the suspect broke into a truck full of tools. Means said the thief was able to find a set of keys to one of the vans inside the truck.
The thief took the tools and some other gear, placed it in the van and then drove away.
Surveillance video showed the burglar return to take more property.
According to Means, the man broke a window with a fire extinguisher and stole a computer.
That computer contained the Social Security numbers and personal information belonging to thousands of their patients.
“We're just worried about the safety of the patients themselves because of the information. We had to contact local police to see what we could do,” said Means.
Sergeant Dave Osborne with the Harlingen Police Department said they are looking for the public’s help because the bad guy may not have been working alone.
Thousands of patients are now waiting to see if thieves log on and download their personal information.
Means, the IT director for Sunglo, said they have contacted all of their patients to let them know about the security breach. He said he will continue to monitor the computer in case someone decides to power it up.
There are specific steps you should take if you think someone has stolen your personal information.
The Better Business Bureau said to contact all the major credit reporting agencies. They also said you should ask them to put a fraud alert and credit freeze on your accounts.
Keep a close watch on your credit card and bank accounts to make sure no one is making charges or taking your money.
They also suggest filing an ID theft kit from the Texas Attorney General.