For Immediate Release
February 17, 2005
Please Contact: Michael Bloom, 617-722-1650

Barrios, Costello and MASSPIRG Call on Choicepoint to Inform MA Consumers of Stolen Data

Say State Should Require Co’s to Inform “Robbed” Consumers

Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, Representative Michael Costello and MASSPIRG today called on Choicepoint Inc to move quickly in informing all Massachusetts consumers who may have had their personal information stolen by the identity thieves that hacked into the company’s national database last October.  Choicepoint claims to own the nation’s most comprehensive database of personal and financial information on US citizens in the nation. Barrios and Costello are working with MASSPIRG to pass legislation like one recently passed in California which has forced Choicepoint Inc. to contact those California residents whose personal and financial information was stolen.

“No one should ever live in fear of having their lives stolen by identity thieves because of a company’s security lapses,” said Senator Barrios.  “It’s disturbing to me that thieves may have stolen hundreds of thousands consumers’ personal information and Choicepoint doesn’t even have to let them know about it.  It’s time for the state to step in and force companies to report when a consumer’s personal information has been stolen”

This week Choicepoint Inc. announced that thieves were able to enter their system posing as legitimate businesses.  The thieves successfully hacked into the database and are believed to have stolen personal and financial data for over 145,000 Americans.  In California Choicepoint Inc. revealed that over 35,000 residents could have had their data stolen.  And according to a statement on the company’s website they are planning to inform 110,000 additional consumers nationwide.  Analysts are calling it one of the largest cases of potential identity theft in history.

The Identity Theft and Victims’ Bill of Rights being pushed by Barrios, Costello and MASSPIRG includes a provision (similar to California’s) requiring data collection companies to report to consumers when and if their personal information was stolen by thieves.  If passed, Massachusetts would become the second state the nation to have such a requirement. The bill was filed in December and is expected to receive a hearing later this spring.

“It’s ridiculous that a company like Choicepoint, that contains files on nearly every adult American, can be so sloppy as to allow a security breach of this size and not tell all consumers who may be  affected,” said Eric Bourassa, a consumer advocate at MASSPIRG.  “Clearly Choicepoint has the capacity to notify all consumers, since they are contacting people in California.  But they’re only doing it because California law requires it. This just goes to show that consumers in Massachusetts need this protection -- to require businesses to notify consumers when their information may have fallen into the hands of identity thieves, just like in California.”

According to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, identity theft led the Federal Trade Commission’s annual top 10 list of consumer complaints for the fifth consecutive year. In Massachusetts, identity theft complaints have nearly tripled during the last four years. Last year, 3,921 Massachusetts consumers filed complaints with the FTC, up from 1,425 consumers in 2001.

“This is a growing problem that has the possibility to negatively affect virtually any citizen of the Commonwealth,” Costello said.  “The recent incidents at Choicepoint further highlight the need for tougher regulations that protect consumers.”

MASSPIRG, Barrios and Costello also suggest taking the following steps to protect yourself from identity theft:

• Never give out personal information, such as your Social Security number and bank or credit account information, to anyone unless you’ve initiated the contact and know who you are dealing with.
   
• Don’t respond to any phone calls, emails or mail solicitations from people and businesses that ask to confirm your personal information or offer things that seem too good to be true.
   
• Tear up any credit applications you receive through the mail or any documents with your personal information before you throw them in the trash.
   
• Beware!  When you give out any personal information such as your name, your address or social security number, you may fall prey to a scam artist’s plan.
   
• Review your monthly statements and report unauthorized charges and/or transactions right away.
   
• Order yearly credit reports and check your credit history for fraudulent activity. You are entitled to one FREE credit report every year.  To get your free credit report, contact one of the three national credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Fraud Investigations, 800-270-3435 or 800-525-6285 or Transunion, Fraud Victim Assistance Bureau, 800-680-7289 or Experian, Fraud Bureau, 888-397-3742 or 800-301-7195

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