California warns of lost parent-child data

California officials on Friday warned that personal information about parents and children in its child support system was missing, putting those people at risk of identity theft.

The California Department of Child Support Services said in a letter that contractors IBM and Iron Mountain "could not locate several specialized computer storage devices" containing data about parents, children and caregivers.

"There is no evidence to date that the information has been misused in any way," stated the letter signed by interim department director Kathleen Hrepich.

"However, it is possible that your personal information may be impacted by this incident."

Stored data was being transferred from an IBM facility in the state of Colorado to California, and some devices holding information were missing upon arrival, according to Hrepich. The loss was reportedly discovered on March 12.

Information unaccounted for included people's names, addresses, social security numbers, and places of employment, the letter said.

IBM and the California governor's press office did not return requests for comment. Hrepich did not disclose how many people were at risk.

(c) 2012 AFP