Last week, members of Teamsters Local 959 were informed by the union that a break-in had occurred at their building on January 26 and that personal information for those members who were contacted had been compromised. This information included names and social security numbers.
Local 959’s Secretary-Treasurer Rick Boyles refused a recorded interview but said this is the first building break-in in about eight years. He said it’s one of several break-ins that Midtown Anchorage has experienced in the last few months.
The stolen objects included a petty cash safe which included three employer reports that contained personal employee information. Boyles said the number of affected members was a small percentage of overall Local 959 membership, but he declined to give a number. Local 959 controller Kris Lira stated that most of the affected members were from Anchorage, but there were several who lived outside Anchorage.
Boyles said the building had security in place and that the Local 959 as well as other community members were working with police to find the parties responsible for the theft. He also said the Teamsters’ building had security systems before the break-in, and they’ve have increased their building security since.
When informed that their personal information may have been compromised, the affected members were given information on how to protect their personal accounts should someone try to use their information. They were instructed to use a free Fraud Alert system with the Credit Reporting Agencies.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
