Experian, Ford, and Identity Theft

corebreech writes "The mighty New York Times (I think they might want you to register) is reporting that hackers posing as Ford employees have managed to pilfer some 13,000 credit reports (Quality is Job 1.) Supposedly the info isn't restricted to merely credit card numbers, but rather includes such delectable delights as address, SSN, bank account info and creditworthiness. Glad I take the subway." The original story was from the Boston Globe.

Comments

Just goes to show

[gillbates]

That it is dangerous to give any personal information to a company, regardless of their privacy policy...

The unfortunate reality of the information age is that information is power - though you may not realize it, giving out personal information, no matter how well-intentioned the recipient is, can have adverse side effects. Systems get hacked; judges can order spyware to track users; businesses can be bought and sold. Worse, we live in a society in which someone's creditworthiness, that is, their ability to get loans, and even find work, is very much dependent on the accuracy of a credit reporting company's data; a simple keystroke error or a bug in a computer program could literally put an otherwise good employee out on the street.

Oh, and one last thing - never give anyone your social security number. Or your mother's maiden name.

Trash Talk

[CaptainZapp]

Gawd, how I really hat those smooth corporate jaspers, talking in press releases. Now this one is really a gem:

Mr. Girard, the Experian spokesman, said the company would work with the F.B.I. to catch and prosecute the intruders. "It just shows that today, even big companies can be victimized," he said. "it's a never-ending struggle against the bad guys."

Look mate, if anybody is victimized here it's those 13000 er! customers while you guys obviously didn't protect their data adequately.

No need to thank me

Re:Now that's customer service N O T

[MeNeXT]

If I'm stupid enough to give you mys car and/or my CC/SS then I would say yes! I should be responsible. This has lasted over a year. It took them a YEAR. a YEAR. They got 13000 accounts in over a year with one password. My system is better secured than that and it contains no CC # no SSN and nothing of value.

So now I will ask you a question. If a bank gets robbed whose money have they stollen yours or the banks. It sounds to me that your claim its yours and not the banks so they may Debit your account for your portion of money stolen.