Report: ChoicePoint previous identity theft

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7065902/

Two Nigerian-born siblings were arrested in 2002 on charges of tapping into ChoicePoint Inc.’s vast database of personal information, a security breach similar to one announced by the data warehouser last month, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Bibiana Benson, 39, and her brother, Adedayo Benson, 38, gained access to at least 7,000 people and used their identities to buy at least $1 million in merchandise, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing court documents.

According to the Times, Bibiana Benson pleaded guilty to opening ChoicePoint accounts in 2000 by using a real estate broker’s license and driver’s license for identification. Both licenses were fake, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause.

Prosecutors said Bibiana Benson obtained personal information, including Social Security numbers and addresses, and sold the data mainly to Nigerian immigrants for $40 to $50 per name.

[Alpharetta]

1. Fool me twice, shame on... won't get fooled again....

Or something like that

[Moderator]

2. kick to combine

[Trillo]

3. ChoicePoint Had Another Identity Theft

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'?

[Anakin Skywalker]

4. FreeperMan says: Capitalism and the Free Market Rock!

"So what's a few hundred thousand stolen data?"

[lovuian]

5. Pretty soon we will have to be fingerprinted

Eye scanned its coming!!!

[napi21]

6. I guess lying to the AP doesn't constitute a felony, but it should be

made public! Whoever their customers are should dump them like a hot rock!

[FormerOstrich]

7. There is an issue that never really gets discussed..

and that's the theft of our time. Not just in this case, but corporations overall. Their policies can cause us, the consumers, to have to expend our time and energy to correct.

If you fall victim of identity theft it will take untold number of hours for you to fix the issue. Worse yet, anymore just a minor billing error can consume hours.

Numerous times I will call a company to discuss an issue (typically they created) only to be placed on hold and then cut off. When you do get an opportunity to talk to someone you won't ever be able to call back and talk to that same person again.

Taking your business to the next guy is no help because the next guy is the same. So not only are we working more for less we have to invest increasingly more hours to attending to your personal business. To my knowledge there is no recourse.

[SharonAnn]

8. You've got it! I've been talking about this for years! They increase

their profit by cutting their cost and increasing yours! They don't have to do a good job, they control things.

The insurance company your company hires that handles your medical insurance? You don't get to change them because you're not their customer! Your employer is their customer! So, if their costs are reduced and yours are increased, it's not a problem for them. They come out ahead!

Your utility company messes up your bill? They hold the utility and you can spend endless hours getting it fixed because it doesn't cost them much and you need the utility.

Your credit card company messes up? They hold the legal rights and you'll have to spend your time trying to get them to correct it. Doesn't cost them much and heck, maybe you'll just pay it to get it over with.


All their cost-cutting increases costs for us and profits for them.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. ChoicePoint says...

it was not involved in throwing the properly registered voters off the register in Florida in 2000.

http://www.choicepoint.com/news/2000election.html

[AndyTiedye]

10. Yes, It is THAT Choicepoint

which means that nothing will be done to them.
They'll probably even get to keep a cut of the proceeds of the theft.