Identity Theft: ChoicePoint Case Reaches 500K Potentially Vulnerable

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At least 700 individuals have had their identities stolen due to a yearlong scam involving con artists who impersonated legitimate clients of data broker ChoicePoint Inc. Initially downplayed by the company as a minor issue limited to California, the situation escalated as investigations revealed that up to 500,000 people nationwide could be at risk for identity theft. This prompted outrage from attorneys general in 38 states, who demanded that ChoicePoint notify potential victims. The incident has sparked calls for increased federal regulation of the data brokerage industry, which operates with minimal oversight despite handling sensitive personal information. Concerns were raised about the broader implications of data sharing and privacy, with discussions highlighting the risks associated with personal identification numbers and the potential for abuse in both the U.S. and abroad. The conversation reflects a growing anxiety about the balance between technological advancements and the protection of personal privacy.
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http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050219/ap_on_bi_ge/choicepoint_identity_theft_12

By RACHEL KONRAD, AP Business Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - At least 700 people had their identities stolen during a yearlong scam by con artists who had signed up as clients of data-broker ChoicePoint Inc., the Los Angeles task force in charge of the criminal investigation confirmed on Friday.

When word first emerged this week that still unknown scammers had illegally obtained detailed dossiers on 35,000 people by posing as legitimate customers of ChoicePoint, the company portrayed it as a relatively minor criminal case, limited to California.

But by week's end, it was shaping up to be a full-blown scandal with as many as a half million people nationwide potentially vulnerable to identity theft.

Outraged, attorneys general from 38 states demanded that ChoicePoint warn any victims in their states as well, and politicians, consumer advocates and security experts called for more federal oversight of a lightly regulated industry that gathers and sells personal data about nearly every adult American.

The task force leader, sheriff's lieutenant Robert Costa, said the number of people vulnerable to identity theft in the case could reach 500,000.
 
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Well, I've been around the computer industry since 1979 as an engineer and perhaps I am paranoid (most likely) but I refuse to put any information about myself on the internet, nada, zip, zilch, zero.

If I google myself (still sounds obcene as a verb) I find nothing and that is just the way I like it. I keep no passwords on my PC, no credit card numbers as I simply do not trust MS's now defunct Password holder system.
Although the governments of the world and even individual companies all say that they do not share data with anyone, we who know, know this is a lie. Once the data start becoming corelated with other data, the genie is out of the bottle.
As an non american, (I am an Australian residing permanantly in Brasil) I do not have a SS number, but I have the equivelent here in Brasil, called a CPF which would translate to "Registered Physical Person" number which stays with me forever and is needed for nearly everything you do.
But according to the government this number is only needed for official government transactions.
But the harsh reality is that I cannot even get a subscription to a local newspaper without giving them this number.
Is the US Social Security system number abused in the same way??
Who do we complain to. After a while these numbers become a defacto HBIN (Human Being Identification Number...my own Acronym)
How do we protect ourselves from this abuse of our personalaties?
Stop using Credit Cards, only cash? I don't know the answer, only that the future in this respect scares me. As a Computer Engineer, I both love and hate technology. The advantages are obvious, but the downsides are terrifying.
 
Doesn't sound like something unfamiliar! It is commonplace that 'associated' companies exchange databases of personal data.
Personally I don't care if my data stays in a database and is processed by machines, but when humans have a look at it then it sounds more like a violation of privacy...
 
Mentioned two posts above was Social Security.

All I have to say to you is that you won't be missing out on not having that soon.
 

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