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AT LEAST 17 Ocean County residents have received letters from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) alerting them that some of their personal information may have been leaked following a data breach at a federal government contractor's office.
Ronald Heinzman, Director of the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs, said his office has to date been contacted by 17 county residents who received the DOJ letters and were concerned if the documents were authentic.
"We confirmed with the Department of Justice that these letters are indeed genuine and that the federal government was reaching out to individuals who may be impacted by the data breach," Heinzman said.
The letter, from Norm Wong, Acting Director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, said a DOJ contractor, Greylock McKinnon and Associates, was the victim of a ransomware attack that may have revealed the personal information of some individuals who had business dealings with the firm.
Leaked information may include names, addresses, Social Security numbers, date of birth, driver's license numbers and Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers.
Wong said the breach did not impact federal DOJ computers.
Heinzman said the county residents who contacted his office wanted to confirm that the DOJ warning letter was authentic and not related to a scam.
"My office sent letters to every individual assuring them the correspondence was legitimate and did originate with the Department of Justice," he said.
Gary Quinn, Deputy Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners, praised Heinzman and his staff for their rapid investigation and response.
"I am very pleased our department quickly informed these residents the letters were genuine," Quinn said. "Computer scams are a growing problem and the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs is doing everything possible to protect our residents from cheats and scammers of every type."
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