PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The state Department of Labor and Training is notifying hundreds of its customers that their phone conversations with the agency on Dec. 24 about benefits, including personal information, may have been overheard by others.
Spokeswoman Laura Hart said that some customers reported that while talking to the department, they overheard the conversations of others doing the same thing.
The problem "may have allowed the unauthorized sharing of some customers' personal information, including Social Security numbers," she said.
She said the department temporarily shut down its phone system and is calling all of those who might have been affected to notify them and offer them three months of free credit checks.
She said it's not clear what caused the problem. She said department officials believe that the number of persons affected was far fewer than the 700 who called that day.