Politics & Government

Brookhaven Posts Social Security Numbers on Town Website

Social Security numbers were mistakenly attached to town board resolution posted May 30.

Brookhaven officials accidentally posted the Social Security numbers of 78 ambulance volunteers on the town's website for roughly five days. 

The town's legal department posted a resolution on May 30 for Tuesday's town board meeting. The resolution, aimed at providing a length-of-service stipend to ambulance workers and their beneficiaries., had an attachment listing hundreds of names and addresses, including 78 Social Security numbers, reported Newsday.

Brookhaven officials said the attachment containing Social Security numbers should have been removed  from the resolution before it was posted online to prevent fraud or identity theft. 

The town has promised to bring legal action against anyone who tries to use their personal information. 

A similar event happened in 2010, when a resolution posted on the town board's website contained an attachment that contained Social Security numbers. It was quickly removed. 

Read more on Newsday [subscription required]. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here