Illinois Accidentally Published Social Security Numbers Of All Boat Owners

If you own a boat or a jetski in Illinois, you might want to do a quick credit check.

The Department of Natural Resources collects Social Security information for all watercraft owners to make sure they aren't behind on any child support payments. Why is the DNR cracking down on deadbeat dads? I don't know but it's not a horrible idea.

What is a horrible idea is accidentally publishing everyone's personal information on a public website. Which is what they did.

MyStateline -The data was published to the Illinois Open Data Portal, which is open to the public, between April 4th and April 8th and again from April 29th through May 1st, 2019. It has since been removed, and the agency has changed its policies to prevent it from happening again.

Well, at least they said that it won't happen again. Good for them.

They did offer this helpful tip for anyone who thinks their information has been compromised.

For additional information on identity theft and steps that can be taken to prevent it, consumers should contact the Federal Trade Commission at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or 877-ID-THEFT (877-438-4338) or the Illinois Attorney General Theft Hotline at http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov or 866-999-5630.