Eyewear giant Specsavers has admitted that the personal information of some clients in regional Queensland is missing.

Key points: The personal information of Specsavers customers in regional Queensland has gone missing

The personal information of Specsavers customers in regional Queensland has gone missing The eyewear giant says one of its computer servers was stolen during a break-in in Bundaberg

The eyewear giant says one of its computer servers was stolen during a break-in in Bundaberg Customers' Medicare details have potentially been compromised

In an email to customers in Bundaberg this week the company outlined the recent privacy breach, stating clients' medical details had potentially been taken.

"Contents may include your name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, clinical records of your optometry tests, and Medicare details," the email read.

How the information was compromised is still being investigated, but it appears a physical computer server was stolen.

A Queensland Police Service spokesperson said it is believed a shipping container containing the business' belongings was broken into between May 25 and 26.

Specsavers said they became aware of the incident on June 3.

Details supplied to customers said the information disappeared while refurbishment works at the Stockland Shopping Centre store were underway.

"During the fit-out works, a range of building materials and IT equipment, including a password-protected computer server, went missing from an onsite storage facility," Specsavers said.

"Despite our best efforts and the assistance of law enforcement, we have been unable to recover the items that went missing."

No credit card or financial information is understood to have been compromised.

In a statement to the ABC, Specsavers said there was no evidence that information on the server had been accessed.

"We are committed to the privacy and security of our customers' personal data and we are doing everything we can to ensure that this cannot happen again in the future," the statement said.

The number of clients potentially impacted by the privacy breach has not been released by Specsavers.

How common is identity crime?

Queensland University of Technology School of Justice fraud, identity and cyber crime researcher Dr Cassandra Cross said data breaches are common and occur on a daily basis.

"Many companies we interact with as customers are, unfortunately, having our personal details compromised," Dr Cross said.

"There's probably many breaches of our personal information that we are unaware of, so in this circumstance it is great to see the company advise customers of the potential breach of information."

Dr Cross said the public generally assume personal information is compromised through online hacking.

"We still have to remember personal information can be compromised in a physical sense," she said.

QUT lecturer Doctor Cassandra Cross said personal information can be compromised through online hacking or physical servers. ( ABC News: Nic MacBean )

With Medicare details on the line, Dr Cross said the potential for breach of privacy was greater.

"Medicare details in and of [themselves] might not be enough to perpetrate identity crime against an individual," she said.

"But, if they have that in combination with other personal details than it might be enough to, for example, make 100 points of identity of an individual and then open an account in that person's name."

But Dr Cross highlighted there was a difference between identity compromise an identity misuse.

"In this circumstance there's a number of customers from Specsavers whose information has been lost in someway and may be compromised, but there's a difference between the information possibly being out there … and when an offender actually takes that information and misuses it to gain a financial benefit," she said.

Precautionary steps to protect yourself

Specsavers said it is working with IDCARE, Australia and New Zealand's national identity and cyber support service, to inform customers about precautionary measures they can take.

Bundaberg clients have been warned to be vigilant about telephone calls, emails, and messages that appear to come from Specsavers.

"There is a risk that an unauthorised third party may use your personal information to facilitate a phishing call or email attempting to induce you to reveal credit card numbers, bank details or other sensitive information and provide a link," the company said.

Specsavers said it is also working with the Commonwealth Department of Human Services, which has since added additional security measures to the impacted customers' Medicare records.

The Department of Human Services General Manager Hank Jongen said the department is monitoring the records for suspicious activity.

"The data potentially compromised includes their full name and number from their Medicare card," Mr Jongen said.

"It does not include other individuals listed on the Medicare card."

He said if customers notice unusual activity, they should call the Department's Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk.

It is understood the breach has also been reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.