Dear Sir: Your Data Was Stolen
You haven’t been properly inaugurated into the 21st century until you get a letter warning that your personal information has been stolen and you may be a victim of fraud. I received my letter a few weeks ago. The University of California at Berkeley, where I attended journalism school as a graduate student, wrote to tell me that a computer containing my social security number was stolen in March.
Six million other people in the United States have received similar letters in less than four months, and the number is growing, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, which advocates on behalf of consumers.