A federal judge on Monday granted final approval to a settlement between Countrywide Financial Corp. and millions of customers left at high risk for identity theft because of a security breach. The breach and terms of the settlement have been previously covered on this site and in PogoWasRight.org’s archives, but the Associated Press story provides…
Category: Insider
Former Wachovia employee in Atlanta gets prison for bank fraud
Atlanta Business Chronicle provides a follow-up on a case previously covered on this site. A former Wachovia Bank employee from Hampton, Ga., was sentenced Monday to four and half years in federal prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with selling customers’ bank account information and Social Security numbers while employed in…
Data breach demonstrates need for access control policies
Remember the breach reported a few weeks ago when a Freedom of Information request uncovered that a Canada Revenue Agency employee had been mining the database to identity high-wealth individuals that she might recruit as customers for her side business? The individuals whose data were accessed were never notified of the incident because the government…
TX: Former loan employee charged with theft from customers
Tricia Rosetty reports: A former Taylor Check ‘N Go employee is facing two charges of identity theft from using former client information to obtain loans. Randall Parker, 46, allegedly obtained about $1,000 in loans using information from former Check ‘N Go clients. Read more in the Taylor Daily Press. From the report, it seems that…
AU: Officer sacked over internet site
Tim Dornin reports: A senior South Australian police officer has been sacked for helping set up a lurid internet dating profile that encouraged men to pursue his ex-girlfriend for sex. Detective Sergeant Darren James Clohesy lost his job on Monday after failing to attend a police disciplinary hearing in response to his court conviction. Police…
UK: Council staff pry into DWP database
From Kable: The Department for Work and Pensions has disclosed that 124 council employees illicitly viewed personal data on its Customer Information System last year. A Freedom of Information request by GC News revealed that local authorities dismissed 26 employees during 2009-10 for breaching data security. That contrasts with research on the previous year, which found…