In a bizarre twist, police in Victoria have recovered some of the computer devices stolen from the University of Victoria earlier this month, along with a repentant note from the thieves.
A postal worker found the hard drives and other computer devices in a green garbage bag stuffed in a mailbox in the nearby suburb of Langford on Tuesday.
Also in the bag was a note, apparently from the thieves, that said the information in these bags was not copied, distributed or exploited.
"We want no part of everyday people living in fear that their personal information is being used against them to take their hard-earned money. Criminals are human before they were criminals," said the note.
But police aren't buying those lines, saying most of the information on the hard drives was wiped clean, and the most important hard drive that contained most of the personal information was not recovered.
The computer hardware containing unencrypted banking information and social insurance numbers of up to 13,000 current and former UVic employees was stolen earlier this month from a campus administration building.
Police say they believe at least two cases of bank fraud may have been linked to the theft.
They have urged anyone who was on the university's payroll between January 2010 and 2012 to call their bank immediately and change their passwords and account numbers. Authorities are also advising people call credit bureaus so that their file can be red flagged for any suspicious activity.
There are no comments yet