Five Men Arrested in LexisNexis Data Theft

An anonymous reader writes "Five men aged 19-24 were arrested last week in connection with the reported theft last year of some 310,000 personal records from database giant LexisNexis. The Washington Post reports that some of the individuals were also involved in the theft and online posting of revealing photos from socialite Paris Hilton's cell phone. All are being charged with 'aggravated identity theft,' which carries a mandatory 2-year jail sentence for those found guilty."

Comments

Wait ...

[Sonic McTails]

Only a two year jail sentence? That seems extremely light, considering that once you have your identity stolen, it can easily take over two years to put everything back in order, especially if the guy who did it isn't caught. That's more like a slap on the wrist then a real punishment, and I don't see it as a deterrent in commiting in this crime.
 
Think about it, very few people who commit identify theft ever get caught, and in addition, you can make a lot of money or get a lot of free stuff while it lasts, and if you get busted, you're out in two years and you can do it all over again.

Re:Wait ...

[EndlessNameless]

Punitive fines can exceed the amount of profit gained by criminal actions, and this is in addition to seizure of assets acquired illegally. Furthermore, it is possible for victims to file civil suits, although I wouldn't want to guess at what their outcomes might be.

It is quite possible to ensure that crime does pay with current laws if that is your only concern. I suspect that the two year minimum is applied to less severe offences.

Also note, from the article: aggravated identity theft "is defined as the use of a stolen identity to commit other crimes". Therefore, they're already being accused of other crimes in addition to this offence (and, if the description is accurate, cannot be guilty of this offence if they are not found guilty of another offence as well). The sentence for this crime will in addition to any other sentences they receive.

Re:Wait ...

[enrevanche]

it should be 310000/5 * (1-2 years) = 31000-62000 years each

Re:Wait ...

[apflwr3]

Only a two year jail sentence? That seems extremely light, considering that once you have your identity stolen, it can easily take over two years to put everything back in order

Well, first, a victim of ID theft doesn't spend two years of straight time fixing the problem. There's a difference between two years of dealing with bureacracy for a few hours a week and two years of your life spent in a prison cell. I'm not making light of ID theft, I was a victim of it myself and it was certainly a bitch to deal with... But hell, I'd take eight years of doing what you have to do to get everything back in order over eight months of prison time. Prison really, really sucks.

So two years doesn't sound that harsh to me. These guys are not violent criminals. They aren't gang members and will not be at the top of the prison food chain. Those two years will not exactly fly by, and being 19-24 they will lose some of what should have been the best years of their lives. When they get out they will be felons and will lose many rights (including foreign travel), and will have to check in with parole officers, and will find it much harder to find work and a decent place to live. They may even be prevented from using a computer for a period of time. I think losing two years of your life would deter most from d

call for investigation

[Anonymous Coward]

Sad to say, which brought about the investigation. 31000 peoples personal data or Paris Hilton's contact list. Unfortunately, it was probably the latter.

Meh.

[FatSean]

I think LexisNexis is more amoral and unethical than the hackers.

Re:Meh.

[bcat24]

Two wrongs don't make a right. (Now, two Wrights can make an airplane, but that's another story.)

Identity theft or Digital Shoplifting?

[smokeslikeapoet]

I hardly believe they would have been arrested if they purchased the info from LexisNexis. This wasn't identity theft, it was digital shoplifting.

Re:Identity theft or Digital Shoplifting?

[TubeSteak]

This wasn't identity theft, it was digital shoplifting.

The identity they stole belonged to the Police.

They used Police 'credentials' to access Accurint, which is a subsidary of Lexis-Nexis.

The aggrivating factor, was that he used that account to create other accounts "which he then allegedly shared with the other co-defendants."

It doesn't matter what they used the information for. They are pwn3d.

Re:Identity theft or Digital Shoplifting?

[wish bot]

It's not theft - it's COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT. Isn't that what we keep saying regarding copying of electronic data?

(only half joking).

His name is trademarked?

[Psychotria]

But according to interviews washingtonpost.com had with at least three of the accused, the group accessed information on Hilton, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

Why has he trademarked his name?

let's be opportunistic

[scrambledhelix]

I hope to god someone cites these guys to congress as a reason *against* data retention legislation. It's not big brother we should be worried about, it's his jackass cousins...

What happened to the good old days...

[Mewtwo]

...when hacking into a computer system automatically got you a job working for the company you hacked into?

Re:What happened to the good old days...

[qbwiz]

It was never really automatic. You always had to hack into the payroll system to do that - I guess these guys forgot that step.

Re:I left in the *moral for the religionists.

[LordKazan]

Since morals seem to be universally attributed to religious codes...perhaps it was disingenous of me to do so.

not in my book

But LexisNexis holding these data is Ok?

[mi]

This is not about privacy, but about information, which, in the prevailing Slashdot opinion, "wants to be free".

So I'm surprised, no one is outraged at LexisNexis collecting (and selling) these data in the first place.

The thieves are thieves, of course, and LexisNexis is not doing anything illegal, but sympathy for them is something, I just can't master...

Re:But LexisNexis holding these data is Ok?

[toppk]

Not only that, but they have the audacity to call it personal records!

Federal authorities last week arrested five men in connection with a 2005 database breach at LexisNexis Group that the database giant said led to the theft of personal records on more than 310,000 individuals.

Re:High Crimes and Misdemeanors

[concinnate]

The funny part is, Lexis-Nexis bought Seisint to get their hands on Hank Asher's whizbang technology. Seems they had an IT department in Dayton full of old fuddy-duddies who insisted on running lexis-nexis on those creepy old IBM mainframes. You know, the ones that had never been hacked.

Re:High Crimes and Misdemeanors

[Concerned Onlooker]

It's amazing how the scum always seems to rise back to the top. Sociopaths run the world.

LexisNexis --better pay your rent!

[Anonymous Coward]

For the younger crowd...

If you live in an apartment complex managed by a corporation and you live in a county with fast-track eviction, like Orange and Los Angeles and many others..you probably already know you have to pay by the 4th or you get a 3-day notice to pay or quit and a $50-$100 fine. On the 10th, their accounting person pushes a button and all of the accounts that haven't paid --in certified funds-- get FAXed to an attorney chop-shop that immediately adds a $300 fee and a couple days later files an Unlawful Detainer action against you. That filing immediately goes on your LexisNexis report --forever and ever. It never comes off. Not in 10 years, not in 50 years. Even when your bank finally clears your deposit and you come walking into your landlord's office on the 11th and say "here's your rent, $100 fine and $300 attorney's fee", the landlord picks up the phone, taps an auto-dial button and declares "this is Bee at the Pink Taco Apartments, we have a pay-n-stay on unit #3920...yeah, that's right, ok thanks." --your life is still ruined. No, LexisNexis is not used to grant credit. No the attempted eviction will never hit your credit report. But the first and subsequent time someone is thinking about filing a lawsuit or counter-suit against you, for example during a car accident, or during a dispute about a real estate commission when you go to buy a house, or some technical work you've delivered working as a contractor, or maybe a prior employer investigating a theft that occured around the time you left --they all get your LexisNexis report, which is linked together by your current and previous addresses. They see a couple of Unlawful Detainer lawsuits and they don't even bother checking to see they were withdrawn a few days after being filed --they just think, you're a broke-ass trailer-trash bustout and if their lawsuit is more strategically motivated than financially motivated (for example, suing you before you sue them), they open up on your but where they otherwise might not. The public record is what it is, but there is no g'damned reason for LexisNexis to show dismissed Unlawful Detainer lawsuits on people's reports for 10, 15 even 40 (entire commercially productive lifetime) years.

Re:LexisNexis --better pay your rent!

[alshithead]

So pay your rent on time. Sounds kinda like flamebait but I don't mean it that way. You have done a great service in supplying this information...I didn't know. It's absolutely a big scam all the way the around. The jurisdiction gets their fine, the lawyers get paid, the landlord gets paid (plus late fees), and the renter gets to eat ketchup soup again. Plus, the information is available via Lexis/Nexis. Don't for minute think that information isn't likely to be seen. Every lawyer in the country has Lexis/Nexis access if they can afford it. Doing a background check on a tenant prospect? Call your lawyer and have him check Lexis, won't cost you much. "Oh, I see you have previous problems paying your rent/car/whatever...we'll need double the deposit or charge you a hundred dollars a month more." Got a civil suit against you? Don't think for a second that Lexis won't be checked. I think in this day and age you need to try and stay out of these databases. Pay your rent on time, don't get your car repossessed, pay your other bills on time, try your damndest to stay out of these databases. The databases are legal, the data is maintained legally, and the people who are paying to access it have a legal right to do so. I think it sucks but it's not going to change in the future exept to get worse.