South Carolina authorities are investigating piles of files found in dumpsters that contain financial records, tax filings, even social security numbers of people and businesses in Mount Pleasant and across the nation. According to ABC News in Charleston, many appear tied to the radio industry. As of today, it’s not clear who is responsible for…
Category: Paper
NM: Sensitive Files Found In Dumpster
An Albuquerque, New Mexico Housing Authority official expressed dismay over reports that over 100 files containing sensitive personal information on former tenants had been found intact in a dumpster behind an apartment complex. The files appear to date back to the late 90s and early 2000. Now the Housing Authority is concerned that the bulk…
CO: University Hill shops burglarized
Vanessa Miller recently reported two burglaries in the Boulder, Colorado area that involved personal data: Jones General Store reported a break-in and theft of customer credit card receipts and Root of the Hill, a business in the same building, reported theft and extensive vandalism. Receipts and boxes of the business’ tax documents were taken from…
Misdirected Spyware Infects Ohio Hospital
Bob McMillan reports: It was a bad idea from the start, but even as bad ideas go, this one went horribly wrong. A a 38-year-old Avon Lake, Ohio, man is set to plead guilty to federal charges after spyware he allegedly meant to install on the computer of a woman he’d had a relationship with…
Houston police bust large ID theft ring
Peggy O’Hare reports: Police have busted a Houston-based identity theft ring that victimized 457 people and 83 businesses scattered across 25 states, investigators announced today. The scheme worked by stealing people’s personal checks, then looking up their driver’s license numbers in an on-line database. Theft ring participants would then use fake Texas driver’s licenses featuring…
Postal inspectors uncover MassMutual customer data during ID theft investigation
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (“MassMutual”) recently discovered that an insider had printouts of customer data that might have been used for fraudulent purposes. In a notification letter [pdf] to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office dated September 8, MassMutual Financial Group reported that they had been advised on August 3 by the U.S. Postal…