WADENA-Tri-County Health Care officials are taking a proactive approach to employee reports of personal tax information being compromised. In the last week, a small number of Tri-County employees have reported tax filing concerns of duplicate tax returns being filed with the IRS.
These concerns come at the same time as the IRS has reported an increased number of taxpayer accounts victimized in its "Get Transcript" breach. More than 700,000 taxpayers may have had their personal information stolen according to a recent report by USA Today. It is part of a growing trend in which cyber thieves acquire personal information that allows them to impersonate a real taxpayer.
"We take the security of our employee's personal information very seriously," said Joel Beiswenger, Tri-County Health Care president and CEO, in a news release. "We believe this situation is manifesting itself through duplicate tax returns and unfortunately we seem to be part of a growing trend nationwide."
Tri-County Health Care has hired an independent firm to investigate the situation. At this time, there is no evidence indicating that private patient records or financial information have been compromised. "We take every precaution necessary to ensure our patients' information is protected," Beiswenger said.
Tri-County Health Care officials encourage anyone who is concerned about their private information to contact Kris Anderson, privacy manager at 218-631-7504.
