WTXL reports that five people have been indicted in a tax refund fraud scheme that included two employees misusing their access to databases. One of those indicted, Katrina Pratt, had been an administrative assistant in human resources at Florida A & M University (FAMU), and allegedly used the identities of 40 students there as part…
Month: September 2014
Top official fired for records security breach at St. Louis Recorder of Deeds office
Adam McDonald reports: A top official in the St. Louis Recorder of Deeds Office has been fired for a vital records security breach of about 19,000 unauthorized copies of death certificates. The acting Recorder of Deeds, Jennifer Florida, says Preggy Meeker, the alleged suspect, allowed employees to log into Missouri’s vital records system by using…
Oh, so that's what happened?
One of the (all too many) frustrations with trying to learn from HHS’s public breach tool is that they do not let us know when they’ve updated an older entry or closed an investigation. In December of 2012, I had reported three additions to the breach tool for which I could find no information online….
SC: Jury begins mulling charges against Williamsburg County sheriff in novel fraud scheme (UPDATED with verdicts)
John Monk reports: A federal jury on Friday afternoon began deliberating the case in which the suspended Williamsburg County sheriff and a Columbia businessman were charged with fraud in connection with a scheme involving hundreds of alleged false identity theft reports. Earlier Friday, the jury heard lawyers’ closing arguments that offered sharp contrasts of Michael…
AU: Government agency leaks customer details without telling
Beau Donelly reports: A government authority has leaked the billing and contact details of Victorians online, but decided against telling affected customers even though the privacy breach posed a “medium to high” level threat. The undisclosed state authority responsible for the breach notified Privacy Victoria about problems affecting its online payment system after discovering the…
TripAdvisor’s Viator Notifies 1.4 Million Customers about Site and Mobile Data Breach
Dennis Schaal reports: Viator, the tours and activities provider acquired by TripAdvisor this summer, is notifying 1.4 million customers that a data breach affecting its websites and mobile offerings may have compromised their credit and debit card numbers, email addresses, and other personal information. Viator posted notices online September 19 about the breach, although the company learned…