Steve Daniels reports: Peoples Gas and sister utility North Shore Gas have notified an undisclosed number of customers of the possible theft and potential use of personal information about them by a contract worker. The natural gas utilities, which serve nearly 1 million customers in the city of Chicago and many northern suburbs, said in…
HI: Tax data infiltrated by state workers (updated)
Rob Shikina reports: The state Department of Taxation placed several employees on administrative leave without pay this week following the discovery of an internal security breach of the department’s tax database. The breach was found during an audit of the department’s security systems and internal controls this year, the department said Thursday. The incidents occurred…
Update to Restaurant Depot/Jetro breach
The recent Restaurant Depot/Jetro breach that I reported on Dec. 7 provides a timely example of the issue of unreimbursed harm that consumers grapple with on a daily basis. As I continue to follow media coverage on that breach, it is clear that not only is there financial impact of this breach (the hacked card numbers…
AU: Bank of Melbourne in privacy breach
Fran Foo reports: A technical glitch at Westpac’s Bank of Melbourne has inadvertently exposed sensitive customer information to other clients. The problem has resulted in some people requesting new credit cards. Although it apologised for the mistake, one Bank of Melbourne business customer, who received a vague letter of explanation from the bank, expressed shock…
Former RadioShack worker pleads guilty to using customer’s info for identity theft
Dianna Hunt reports: A former RadioShack customer service representative pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to stealing customers’ personal information while trying to resolve their problems. Youlanda Rochelle Wright used the information to file a false income tax return in a client’s name to get a refund of $3,654, according to court records. Wright entered…
Supreme Court Denies Petition for Review in Suit Over Disclosure of Medical Records
The U.S. Supreme Court Dec. 12 said it will not review a California Supreme Court decision that held the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) does not preclude a lawsuit alleging a debt collector disclosed medical records in violation of a California medical information privacy statute (Mortensen v. Brown, U.S., No. 11-434, review denied). The…