Andy Sher reports: No identity theft or credit card fraud has been found stemming from the October theft of 57 computer hard drives containing BlueCross customers’ personal information, a company official told state lawmakers today. “No sir,” Clay Phillips, BlueCross’ director and associate general counsel for state affairs, told Sen. Ken Yager, R-Harriman. “We monitor…
Author: Dissent
UT: Payment card skimmer secretly planted in gas station pump
Dan Goodin reports on yet another skimming operation involving a gas station, this one in Utah: It was discovered in late January at a 7-Eleven in Sandy, Utah. Police said it may have been actively monitoring transactions for as long as 60 days. It resulted in losses of more than $11,000. Read more in The…
UK: Mortgage company accidentally discloses over 15,000 account details
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found Redstone Mortgages Ltd in breach of the Data Protection Act (DPA) after personal information relating to 15,333 mortgage accounts was emailed to a member of the public by mistake. The information, which included personal data relating to individuals’ arrears or possession proceedings, was sent to Redstone’s head office…
Suit possible over baby DNA sent to military lab for national database
Mary Ann Roser reports: An Austin lawyer threatened to pursue a new federal lawsuit Monday after learning that some newborn blood samples in Texas went to the U.S. military for potential use in a database for law enforcement purposes. The Department of State Health Services never mentioned the database to Jim Harrington, director of the…
22 charged in NY identity fraud ring
Authorities announced charges Tuesday against 22 people involved in an alleged identity theft ring. Seven of them, including two New York City-based employees of the Department of Motor Vehicles, allegedly sold more than 200 New York state driver’s licenses and other identification documents in stolen identities, netting more than $1 million. In addition, 15 customers…
Ninth Circuit addresses "actual damages" under the Privacy Act
I posted this yesterday to PogoWasRight.org but then it dawned on me today that since this involved medical information, I should have posted it here, too: A new ruling from the Ninth Circuit in Cooper v. FAA addresses the meaning of “actual damages” in the Privacy Act. The case arose when federal agencies shared information…