Editorial Standards

Latest News Today maintains rigorous editorial standards. Our team verifies information from trusted sources and provides context to help readers understand complex stories.

Last Updated: Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 07:07 PM
Category: Id

Editor's Note

Latest News Today provides comprehensive coverage and analysis of breaking news stories. This article is part of our ongoing coverage of wbna7434532, bringing you verified information from trusted sources with added context and expert perspective.

Why This Matters: Understanding the full context of this story helps readers make informed decisions and stay updated on developments that impact our community.

Theft exposes data of medical patients

A medical practice has bad news for 185,000 patients — their personal information might have been compromised.

A medical practice has bad news for 185,000 patients — their personal information might have been compromised.

San Jose Medical Group began sending letters to current and former patients in California earlier this week after thieves stole two office computers on March 28. The computers contained names, addresses, Social Security numbers and billing codes that could be used to deduce medical histories.

It was unclear whether any patients have become victims of identity theft, police said. The department’s fraud unit was investigating.

San Jose Medical Group did not immediately return telephone calls or an e-mail Friday from The Associated Press. Its letter recommended that patients alert a credit bureau and monitor their credit reports for a year.

Last year, more than 9.9 million Americans became identity theft victims, costing the country roughly $5 billion, according to the Postal Inspection Service.

California is the only state that requires companies to notify residents when personal data is compromised. Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation in February to require similar disclosures nationwide.

In one of the state’s largest security breeches, the University of California, Berkeley campus warned 1.4 million Californians that a problem in October had exposed the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and birthdays of people who had participated in a state in-home care program.