Reply #3: ChoicePoint Had Another Identity Theft

[Trillo]

By HARRY R. WEBER, AP Business Writer

ATLANTA - A newly revealed case shows that the vast commercial database of personal information at ChoicePoint Inc. was tapped by identity thieves in 2002 — contradicting a statement by its CEO that a much more recent breach was the first of its kind.

A Nigerian-born brother and sister were charged in 2002 with a scam in which they posed as legitimate businesses to set up ChoicePoint accounts and gain access to its massive database. They then made 7,000 to 10,000 inquiries on names and Social Security (news - web sites) numbers in the database and used some of those identities to commit at least $1 million worth of fraud, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause in Los Angeles said Wednesday.

Last week, after a similar case became public, ChoicePoint chief executive Derek Smith told The Associated Press in an interview that the company had never been victimized by that kind of criminal operation before. He did not mention the 2002 case.

"We saw for the first time organized crime come in and attack through a small business segment," Smith said about the recent incident. "We had not experienced this kind of environment or understanding before."
More...


Another CEO that lied once on the record, perhaps he routinely lies.
In our new 'ownership society' why do companies headed by a liar own 'my information'?