Personal info. held on lost flash drive

NORFOLK, Va. - There are concerns about identity theft after a Virginia Department of Education employee lost a flash drive that contained personal information of more than 100,000 people.

Norfolk residents Tom and Lori Trievel said they got a letter from the Virginia Department of Education stating personal information for former adult education students has been lost.

"My wife halfway met me at the door saying she got a letter from the Virginia Department Of Education.... and she didn't quite understand it," Trievel told WAVY.com.

A spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Education said the data included names, social security numbers and demographic information - all the information was contained on a flash drive.

Superintendent of Public Instruction, Patricia Wright said in a statement that department officials gave the flash drive containing the data to a representative of a Virginia Tech Education research center. That person reportedly lost the device in Richmond on September 21. The information was not encrypted.

"They say that they have no proof that any data on it was compromised. But if they can't find it, they don't know," Trievel added.

The State Department of Education is sending letters to more than 77,000 people whose addresses were on that lost flash drive. VDOE was unable to find the addresses for more than 25,000 others who've finished adult education courses between April 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009. Or those who passed the High School Equivalency Test between January 1, 2001 and June 30, 2009.

If you took adult education courses or have gotten your GED since 2001, and you're concerned about the possibility of your identity being stolen you should:

1. Monitor your account statements
2. Request a free credit report
3. Place a Fraud alert

"Are they gonna be accountable if somebody opens up an account in my wife or somebody else's name? And it takes years to get that off of your record," Trievel said.

As of now, no adult education students or graduates have reported any identity theft.

Call the State Department of Education Call Center in you have concerns. The number is 1-877-347-5224.