A flash drive with the personal information of 2,000 bar and restaurant employees was stolen from the head office of the Oil City Hospitality Group in north Edmonton last summer.

The drive contained the names, addresses and social insurance numbers of people who worked at establishments owned by the company including The Pint, Oil City Roadhouse, Rockstars, Fluid Lounge and Vinyl Lounge.

The item was taken from the 2nd floor of the company's head office at 117th Avenue and 78th Street on June 23rd. The break-in is still being investigated by Edmonton police.

Police are warning that the affected employees could become victims of identity theft.

"It's obviously a concern," said police spokeswoman Clair Seyler.

"For those people, we ask that they contact the credit bureau. They can put a fraud flag, a fraud warning on their file, so anytime over the next five or six years, anytime that their name is put forward for credit application or any financial information, they are notified first before anything will be approved."

The company says police and the privacy commissioner were notified after the break-in. The company then attempted to contact its employees through email, social media and by mail.

A public notice about the breach was placed in Edmonton and Calgary newspapers this week on the orders of the privacy commissioner.