In the justice system: Paul D. Gale, the owner of Roadhouse Grill & Tavern, has been arrested on charges he made a fraudulent insurance claim and collected phony charges using customers’ credit card numbers. More. Gerry Lynn McAfee was sentenced to 33 months in prison for stealing the identity of a Vietnam War veteran and…
Category: Government Sector
UK: Stolen RAF vice files spark blackmail fear
More details emerge on a breach reported in 2008… David Hencke of Guardian reports: Sensitive files detailing the extra marital affairs, drug taking and use of prostitutes by very senior officers in the RAF have been stolen, raising fears within the Ministry of Defence that personnel could be vulnerable to blackmail. Up to 500 people…
Indiana agency sent 4,500 social security numbers to wrong companies
Eric Bradner of the Evansville & Courier Press reports that Indiana’s unemployment agency, the Department of Workforce Development, accidentally sent the social security numbers of 4,500 out-of-work Hoosiers to the wrong companies due to a printing error by Pitney Bowes Management Services. It was less than one week ago that the New Jersey Department of…
IRS lax in destroying sensitive tax papers
From Reuters: Sensitive documents about U.S. taxpayers were found in trash outside all Internal Revenue Service sites visited in a investigation, putting the people at risk of identity theft, an inspector’s report says. The tax collection agency must bolster oversight of contractors who dispose of papers with personally identifiable information, the inspector general for tax…
Bits ‘n Pieces
In the justice system: In a follow-up to a case reported last year, former Texas lottery worker Joseph Mueggenborg was arrested and charged with illegally “possessing” personal information on 140 lottery winners and employees, including their names and Social Security numbers. How he got hired by another state agency after being fired by another one…
Ca: Passport applications from Kelowna go missing
From the Canadian Press: More than one month after they were filed in Kelowna, at least 50 Canadian passport applications have disappeared. Passport Canada officials in Vancouver confirm the loss. They have advised affected applicants to check their bank accounts and keep a close watch for any potential identity theft. In December 2008, the Privacy…