I got "the letter"

yes... we heard about the voter registration "security breach" last week when we returned from our holiday travels.

yes... John and I are registered voters.

yes... we got "the letter" on Saturday telling us that our information was included in the "security breach" and that consumer reporting agencies are being notified of this loss by the Davidson County Election Commission."

But, pardon me if I don't trust that Davidson County is going to make sure our private information is safe at this point.

I'm calling all the agencies myself to make sure nothing is delayed or slips through the cracks, but...

• How can I be sure that is enough?
• How will this affect my ability to use my own credit report to get a car, finance a future business, open a savings account?
• How long do I need to keep the "fraud alert" with the credit agencies?
• Is this going to follow me around forever?

At the risk of sounding too emotional, I'm very concerned. This event is tantamount to someone breaking into my house... except I don't know what they have or have not stolen. Which makes it seem even worse to me.

Needless to say, I am personally disappointed in the Davidson County Election Commission and whomever was responsible for the security of that laptop.

Seriously. Who maintains laptop with such confidential information 1) without encryption; 2) with the passwords taped on the computer? THE PASSWORDS WERE TAPED ON THE BACK OF THE COMPUTER. Duh. That is a boner mistake... no getting around it.

BOTTOM LINE:
If you're a registered voter in Davidson County... I hope you're not counting on Davidson County to ensure that your private information is being taken care of after this "security breach". I encourage you to contact all the credit agencies listed in the letter and place a fraud alert on your file yourself. This is one of those times that it is just better that you don't take any chances.