It appears that no one is safe from ID theft anymore. A group of 150 individuals in Boston have had this fact recently confirmed for them. According to published reports, the 150 individuals had attended classes at the Boston Museum of Science. Although the investigation continues, the affected individuals have already been contacted by mail and phone. It appears that their personal information was posted on the museum’s webpage by a contract employee. Since the webpage was public, the data was available to anyone with access to the Internet.

Although the 150 individuals had taken classes at the museum, there were additional people affected. Another 180 consumers who had purchased gifts at the museum shop also had their personal information shared on the website. Unlike the 150 students from the museum, who had their home addresses and credit card information posted, the regular gift shop consumers just had their credit card numbers placed on the webpage.

A spokesman for the museum was not able to confirm how long the material remained on the website. The breach was only brought to the attention of the media at the end of last month, although it had taken place earlier. The delay was due to the fact that the museum was trying to alert all the affected parties in a timely fashion. Additionally, there was no information available about how the breach was noticed or who might have obtained the sensitive data.

Although a copy of the letters sent to the affected individuals has not surfaced for the media, in undoubtedly contained information about steps the people should take. Whether or not in included any information about purchasing a subscription from an ID theft service, such as Lifelock, hopefully the affected people look in to this option. More and more consumers are realizing how simple interactions, such as taking a course at the local museum, can be the source for potential identity theft. With more transactions taking place online, these types of breaches are, unfortunately, becoming more common.

As the story continues to develop, investigators are seeing whether or not any fraudulent activity has taken place on affected accounts. The fate of the contract employee who accidentally posted the information has not been released. Currently, no investigations are being done on the employee, which implies that police and the museum do not believe that this was an intention act. As more information becomes available about the breach, authorities will be in contact with the students and shoppers at the museum store.

While this breach has brought negative attention to the Boston Museum of Science, it does not seem to have affected its visitor numbers. The museum has assured its patrons that it has stepped up security and put measures in place to prevent any further misplacement of private information. Time will tell how effective these measures prove to be.