Over 1,200 Carpentersville residents' banking info accidentally emailed due to human error

A Carpentersville employee was emailing a tech support company when he inadvertently sent banking information for more than 1,200 residents who use auto-pay for water bills.

"It shouldn't have happened," Village Manager John O'Sullivan said. "It was an awful error of a keystroke."

The file that was mistakenly sent was next to the file the employee intended to send. O'Sullivan said the error was caught immediately, and Dell, which provides tech support for the village, was able to destroy the email and saw that it had not been opened or forwarded to anyone else.

"We're pretty sure it didn't get open, read or forwarded," O'Sullivan said.

He said residents were notified of the incident by mail. Due to the number of people affected, the village also was required to notify the Illinois attorney general's office, O'Sullivan said.

The village also has since made a change that allows for a 2- to 10-minute delay before an email is sent out so it can be easily retrieved during that delay time if needed.

"There was no malice; no intent," O'Sullivan said of the mishap. "It was simple classic human error."

Though the village is nearly certain financial information was not further transmitted, residents are encouraged to contact their financial institution and police if they notice any suspicious activity on their accounts. In the letter, the village reminded residents they can obtain a free copy of their credit report every 12 months.