Archdiocese of Seattle targeted by data theft, causes annoyances

The Archdiocese of Seattle has been hit by a data breach and some of those affected have had false tax returns filed with their identities.

Michael Hatamoto

TweakTown

Published Mar 15, 2014 1:29 PM CDT
Updated Nov 3, 2020 12:18 PM CST

& 30 seconds read time

A data breach suffered by the Archdiocese of Seattle is now being investigated by the FBI and IRS, as personal information stolen has reportedly been used for false tax returns, so criminals can take the refunds.

Archdiocese of Seattle targeted by data theft, causes annoyances | TweakTown.com

Students from the Seattle Bishop Blanchet High School were released early on Friday, with school administrators hoping to give faculty and volunteers the ability to go home and check their IRS and credit reports. Students at the O'Dea High School had Friday off so administrators could try to further evaluate the data breach.

The Archdiocese of Seattle has created an online portal for those concerned following the data breach. Also, they recommend calling the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit: 1-800-908-4490, ext. 245 to learn if tax identity theft has occurred.