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ChoicePoint Identity Theft Fallout Widens
dstates writes "A unique California law forced ChoicePoint to reveal that a break-in had compromised accounts revealing personal information on 40,000 southern californians and leading to more than 750 cases of identity theft. The company initially denied that the break-in compromised consumers outside of California, but CNN is now reporting that 110,000 accounts nationally have been compromised. 'The irony appears to be that ChoicePoint has not done its own due diligence in verifying the identities of those 'businesses' that apply to be customers,' said Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. 'They're not doing the very thing they claim their service enables their customers to achieve.'"
How does someone determine if Choicepoint had data on them?
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
What really upsets me is how they originally denied that anyone outside of California had their informaion comprimised.
I love the way marketing companies have more access to my personal information than I do. Moreover, they're among the "legitimate" businesses who the company claims it sells information to -- any dick and harry spammer joint can be called a "marketing company". In other words, if you have enough money to pour down their gullet, you have the information.
The company says its records enable law enforcers to track down serial killers and have helped find 822 missing children.
Yeah, since they help children, they cannot be an irresponsible company.
"The topic of the responsible use of information is a vital one to our society ... we support a national debate on this very topic," ChoicePoint President Doug Curling said.
Classic tangential marketspeak response from the president.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Looks like their stock is still doing ok. Although that could change come Monday. Graph
Do really dense people warp space more than others?
Choicepoint's stated vision.
"We strive to create a safer and more secure society through the responsible use of information"
I'll buy that for a dollar!
They were reporting California because they had absolutely no choice in the matter because of legal requirements in California. It's a very good thing for all people who have information at Choicepoint that California has that law. Otherwise I have little doubt any of us would know about it.
I do wonder if it would be beneficial to indentity thieves to expressly avoid stealing information about California residents to limit knowledge of their efforts. If those 100K people weren't notified by Choicepoint, it'd give them a lot more freedom to exploit that pile of information.
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
Meanwhile, in that Bastion of Truth, Justice and the Liberty, Washington DC, George W. Bush signs The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005
<sarcasm>at least america is safe from gay weddings</sarcasm>
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Does anyone else realize that this is the same company that essentially handed over the 2000 election to George W. Bush? They are the ones who were hired by the florida voting commission to compare the data on federal criminals in the US with those in FL so that the FL federal criminals couldn't vote. Only they botched (on purpose?) it up completely and had a 5% accuracy rate resulting in thousands of voters (mostly black) getting turned away at the polls. Coincidentally (yeah, right) they were awarded a 60 million dollar data sorting job in Iraq once the war started. Funny, if they failed so miserably in FL why would you reward them with a bid in Iraq? This company is a joke.
(Of course, Dubya's margin was so slim that *LOT'S* of groups can claim discredit for slipping him into the White House. Irregardless of the various culprits, we're all suffering for it now.)
Anyway, as I noted in the earlier thread on this topic, I think we need to establish the principle that *YOU* own the personal data about *YOU*, and no one can use it or sell it without *YOUR* permission. This is actually a logical implication of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. However, to give it teeth, I think we also need to appeal to "Possession is nine points of the law", and *YOU* should be able to store your own data on *YOUR* own computer. Anyone wants to see it, they ask for your permission (or prove they deserve a search warrant).
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
Seriously, I'd wager 50 bucks that the number is much, much higher than what is being reported. They (and possibly those investigating it) are not reporting the actual numbers since they either A) don't know or B) fear it might cause a panic if it were known. For them to collect 145,000 identities, they weren't bumbling with their methods. They knew exactly how to work the system and probably have a significant chunk of ChoicePoint's records...if not the majority of them.
My fear is that the only way significant change will be made to this "records collection" system is when banks and credit companies cannot sustain their business model due to massive fraud. When your credit card has a 40% interest rate due to them recovering the cost of fraud, then we might see something happen.
I wonder if the others (Equifax, TransUnion, Experian) have ever been compromised? Is it just a matter of time?
It's not that there was a 'security breach' It's that they actively lied to cover up their stupidity. If you listen to CNN and other news outlets the loss of information was because of 'hackers'. Not because they just gave out information willy-nilly to anyone who said they were a business. They also only warned only California residents that the information was 'stolen' (not sold as it was), and did not make the announcement that the scope of the information they gave out covers literally all 50 states, territories, and possessions.
They should be shut down. Immediatly, and with extreme prejudice should there be any resistance.
Steve's Computer Service, Hobbs, NM