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States Demand ChoicePoint Notify ID Theft Victims

February 17, 2005
State attorneys general are demanding that ChoicePoint notify all consumers whose personal data may have been stolen in an identity-theft operation. The company has told at least 30,000 Californians that their data is at risk because a state law requires it to do so. Residents of other states are in the dark.

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“We insist that ChoicePoint take immediate corrective action to notify all residents of our states who have or may have been affected by this breach,” said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Others signing the letter include Attorneys General of Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Washington.

ChoicePoint provides data to credit providers, government agencies, landlords and others looking to make business decisions based on a person’s credit history and other factors. While no one knows the extent of the theft, only California has a law that requires companies to notify residents of a security breach.

“It is with great concern that we have learned about the fact that personal information in the possession of ChoicePoint, Inc., has been compromised and released to parties engaged in identity theft. It is our understanding that ChoicePoint has begun efforts to inform California residents that their personal information may have been compromised,” Madigan wrote in a letter to the company.

Madigan said ChoicePoint should take the following actions immediately:

• ChoicePoint, Inc., should immediately inform all persons whose personal information is known to have been compromised, providing them with as much detailed information as possible about the breach and when it occurred, and urging them to check their credit reports for new accounts or suspicious activity.

• For those persons whose personal information may have been compromised, ChoicePoint, Inc., should immediately inform them of this possibility, and urge them to check their credit reports for new accounts or suspicious activity.

Madigan and other attorneys general also asked for a meeting with her office and the company to determine the extent of the damage caused to consumers and to discuss the steps the company must take to prevent this from occurring again.

Madigan explained that companies or businesses subscribe to ChoicePoint to obtain personal and financial information such as Social Security numbers and credit reports. That information is used to make business decisions about potential customers based on their personal data.

According to news articles, thieves were able to successfully subscribe to the service using falsified information. The thieves then would request – under a new subscriber’s name – a person’s personal information. They then would take that information and open accounts with which to buy merchandise.

“Identity theft threatens a consumer’s financial health, credit rating and peace of mind,” Madigan said. “I will work to help make sure that ChoicePoint does the right thing by informing Illinoisans of any financial or identity theft risks they may face.”

Madigan said that consumers worried about the breach may consider ordering a credit report to check for any suspicious activity. While consumers would ordinarily have to pay a fee to obtain a credit report, starting March 1, every consumer is entitled to receive a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting companies.

The annual free reports are available only through the centralized source set up by the three credit reporting agencies. If consumers contact the companies directly they will still be charged for their credit reports. To obtain the free reports after March 1, consumers can call 1-877-322-8228, order online at www.annualcreditreport.com or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form, available at www.ftc.gov/credit, and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

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