The Franchise Tax Board, the California state agency that handles personal and tax-related information for millions of residents, reported a data security incident to the California Attorney General on July 17, 2025. The notification filed with the state was submitted as a scanned document, so no readable text could be extracted from it. That means we cannot tell you exactly what happened, how the incident occurred, or whether a vendor was involved. We’re saying that plainly rather than guessing, and we’ll update this page if a readable version of the letter becomes available.
Because the filing text wasn’t extractable, it’s not possible to say from this notice alone who was affected or how many people received letters. If you received a letter directly from the Franchise Tax Board, that letter is the most reliable source of details about your specific situation, including what happened and what information of yours may have been involved.
What information was exposed?
- The specific data types involved in this incident were not disclosed in the readable portion of the filing.
- Given that the Franchise Tax Board handles tax records, it’s reasonable to treat any notice from them as potentially involving sensitive personal or financial details, even though this filing does not confirm that.
No information about free credit monitoring or identity protection services being offered was found in the available filing text.
What should you do now?
- Read any letter you received from the Franchise Tax Board carefully and keep it for your records, since it may contain details specific to your situation that aren’t reflected here.
- Watch your bank and credit card statements for unfamiliar charges, and check your credit reports regularly at annualcreditreport.com.
- Be cautious of unexpected calls, emails, or letters claiming to be from the Franchise Tax Board or the IRS asking for personal information or payment; verify any request by contacting the agency directly through its official website.
- Consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with the major credit bureaus if you’re concerned about identity theft, especially given that this involves a tax agency.
- Since the exact data exposed wasn’t disclosed here, consider signing up for a service like Aura or LifeLock, which can alert you if your information appears elsewhere online.
- File your California and federal taxes as early as possible each year to reduce the chance that someone else files a fraudulent return using your information.