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Author Archives: Alex Drake
ChoicePoint Fined for Security Breach
ChoicePoint Inc. will pay federal regulators $275,000 for a data breach in 2008 that compromised the personal information of 13,750 people and put them at risk of identify theft, the Federal Trade Commission reported. In April 2008, ChoicePoint turned off … Continue reading
Study: Web’s Most Dangerous Search Terms
A McAfee study into 2,600 of the most popular keyword searches on the web has concluded that hunts for “”screensavers”” present the most risk. The report released this week shows that users who search for “screensavers” have a 59.1 percent chance … Continue reading
Heartland Breach Puts Your Data at Risk
Heartland Payment Systems has disclosed that intruders hacked into the computers it uses to process 100 million payment card transactions per month for 175,000 merchants. Heartland’s president and CFO, said in a USA TODAY interview that the intruders had access … Continue reading
36% of Identity Thieves are Women
A new study by the Economic Crime Institute work group, based at Utica College, has found that a surprising number of identity thieves are women. The researchers have been given access to Secret Service case files on identity theft spanning … Continue reading
Free Annual Credit Report Scams
A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion to provide anyone with a free copy of their credit report, at their request, once every 12 months. … Continue reading
Personal Information of 159,000 Administaff Employees Compromised
An Administaff company laptop containing the personal information of 159,000 employees was stolen from a company employee. The laptop was stolen from a company employee’s car while they were shopping for groceries on October 3rd, 2007. The information on the … Continue reading
Stolen Laptop Contains Transportation Department Worker Information
“In Washington state, a burglar stole a laptop containing the personal information of 1,400 current and former employees of the King County Transportation Department. The information contained the names, addresses, and social security numbers of current and former employees. The … Continue reading
Massachusetts Regulators Mistakenly Sent Out Disks with Personal Information
In Massachusetts the Divisions of Professional Licensure and Health Professions Licensure sent out information to marketing firms and other businesses containing the personal data, including Social Security numbers, of 450,000 licensed professionals. The Division of Professional Licensure notified both the … Continue reading
Former University of Iowa Graduate Students at Risk of Identity Theft
The University of Iowa is warning 184 students and graduates that grade information and Social Security numbers were on a laptop stolen from a former teaching assistant. The laptop was stolen in September from the home of a former teaching … Continue reading
U. of Texas Student’s Personal Information Available Online
The University of Texas said it works hard to notify students about how to avoid identity theft, but the school put some of its own at risk. The Personal information, including Social Security numbers of 22 current and former students, … Continue reading