An employee at Gillette, Wyo.-based Campbell County Health mistakenly sent the Social Security numbers and W-2 information of 1,457 employees to someone impersonating a hospital executive, according to the Gillette News Record.
The 66-year-old employee contacted police about the incident on Jan. 25.
"It appears that an unauthorized individual, impersonating a CCH executive, contacted an employee requesting W-2 information for all of our employees who had taxable earnings in calendar year 2016," CCH CEO Andy Fitzgerald said. "Unfortunately, before it was determined that the request was fraudulent, the employee provided these files."
Mr. Fitzgerald said no protected health information was released.
CCH is working with investigators and a cybersecurity team to identify the impersonator. The system has pledged to pay for identity protection services for impacted patients.