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 ...

[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.

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?

[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.

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...