ChoicePoint Data Theft Spreads To Many More People

from the and-so-it-goes dept

Earlier in the week, the news came out that ChoicePoint (formerly a unit of credit bureau Equifax) had simply handed out personal info for many California residents to a sham new business whose only purpose was to use that data for identity theft. At least 750 people were scammed. At the time of the announcement, they made it sound like it was only (only!) 35,000 residents of California — where privacy laws require that those who may have given up personal info must alert those impacted. However, it seems that some other states began to get curious about this, and even though it took some prompting from various AGs, ChoicePoint is now admitting that 145,000 people were impacted. Once again, this demonstrates how identity theft issues are very often completely out of the control of the individuals themselves — but due to poor security at the companies who handle all of our data.


Rate this comment as insightful
Rate this comment as funny
You have rated this comment as insightful
You have rated this comment as funny
Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam
You have flagged this comment
The first word has already been claimed
The last word has already been claimed
Insightful Lightbulb icon Funny Laughing icon Abusive/trolling/spam Flag icon Insightful badge Lightbulb icon Funny badge Laughing icon Comments icon

Comments on “ChoicePoint Data Theft Spreads To Many More People”

Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment
6 Comments
Carolyn Fumia says:

Re: Confirmation ChoicePoint

I have emailed them a few times, but they will not answer the question if my info. was jeopardized. They will reveal it over the phone but not in writing. I received an envelope from them months ago, but I threw it away at the PO because I thought it was junk mail, and I did not do business with them.

I also requested they remove my personal and financial info. from their data base. No response to 3 letters sent via email.

I was intending to send certified letters to their Records Dept. in Brentwood, TN and to their Headquarters in Alpharetta, GA and request this info. again. Glenwood Financial has made several requests on my credit report for info., and I never authorized them to do so.

This is the last letter I recieved:

Dear Carolyn Fumia,

We notified all 145,000 potentially affected consumers via the United States Postal Service. Approximately 35,000 of these consumers are California residents and approximately 110,000 are residents of other states. Please call our consumer help line at 1-877-547-2518 to determine if your information was potentially affected. You can also go to our website at
http://www.choicepoint.com/privacyatchoicepoint/consumers.html
for more consumer information. Beyond that I can not tell you if your personal and financial information been jeopardized. You need to follow the steps that were indicated in the letter before.

Best Regards,

Becky
The Feedback Team
ChoicePoint Inc,
4530 Conference Way South
Boca Raton Fl, 33431
800-279-7710

~~~~
Any suggestions??

OSAHENI LENDERS says:

LOAN OFFER AT LOW INTEREST RATE

I AM A PRIVATE LOAN LENDING COMPANY BASED IN NIGERIA AND REGISTERED UNDER THE NIGERIA AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.WE OFFER LOAN TO INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES WITH LOW INTREST RATE.WE GIVE LOANS IN DOLLARS.OUR AIM IS TO SOLVE FINANCIALS PROBLEMS OF INDIVIDUALS AND COMPANIES TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GETTING A LOAN FROM US.YOU CAN CONATCT US WITH THE EMAIL ADDRESSES BELOW.
EMAIL:osahenilenders@yahoo.fr,
fundsaffairs@yahoo.co.uk

Add Your Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here

Comment Options:

Make this the or (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this?

What's this?

Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop »

Follow Techdirt

Techdirt Daily Newsletter

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

A weekly news podcast from
Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

Subscribe now to Ctrl-Alt-Speech »
Techdirt Deals
Techdirt Insider Discord
The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...
Loading...