Minn. Officials: Unauthorized Access to Vehicle Records | News

State officials say they've detected and stopped unauthorized access to the motor vehicle records of about 3,700 people in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says a preliminary investigation by its Driver and Vehicle Services division doesn't show the data was used for criminal purposes. The agency is sending letters to the individuals affected by the unauthorized access. Names, address, dates of birth, vehicle identification numbers and other personal information was at risk.

DPS says an audit found that a car dealer employee who's authorized to view the data in order to process auto sales passed the system login information to a friend. That friend works at a vehicle repossession company. That person viewed the records or allowed others to see the information.

Unauthorized access of driver and vehicle data is a violation of state and federal law. 

According to DPS spokesman Bruce Gordon, the individual who improperly shared his login has since been shut out of the system. He also says that DPS is working with local law enforcement agencies to determine how the individuals should be reprimanded, including whether criminal charges should be filed.

(The Associated Press contributed to this article.)