File with Total System employees’ data obtained

Total System Services Inc., a Columbus-based company that processes credit and debit cards for merchants, said an employee with an outside claims administrator improperly obtained a file containing the names, addresses, birth dates and Social Security numbers of about 5,200 current and former staffers earlier this month.

Total System said no employee health information was misappropriated. The employ worked for Paragon Benefits Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dan Thomason of Paragon said law enforcement was immediately contacted and the staffer no longer works the vendor.

The Total System employees were being offered free identity theft protection, credit monitoring and other support services from Equifax.