Recently in Government Category

A recent amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – to provide anyone with a free copy of their credit report, at their request, once every 12 months. Be aware that there is only one online source authorized to do so. That source is annualcreditreport.com. Beware of other sites that may look and sound similar.

Free Credit Report Offers

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC’s website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports, but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

The FTC Gets Tough with Free Credit Report Offers

The FTC recently settled a lawsuit against Consumerinfo.com – which did business as Experian Consumer Direct – over the “free credit report” promotion it advertised on television, radio and the Internet, including its websites freecreditreport.com and consumerinfo.com. If you ordered a free credit report from Consumerinfo between November 1, 2000 and September 15, 2003, and were enrolled in its credit monitoring program, you may be eligible for a refund under the FTC’s settlement.

In Washington state, a burglar stole a laptop containing the personal information of 1,400 current and former employees of the King County Transportation Department.

The information contained the names, addresses, and social security numbers of current and former employees.

The laptop belongs to a human resources employee who regularly brings the laptop from one job site to another. The laptop was password protected, but the data was not encrypted. The victims were part of the department’s Roads, Airport and Fleet divisions.

In Massachusetts the Divisions of Professional Licensure and Health Professions Licensure sent out information to marketing firms and other businesses containing the personal data, including Social Security numbers, of 450,000 licensed professionals.

The Division of Professional Licensure notified both the secretary of state and the office of the attorney general about the breach, and has begun notifying all affected individuals.

Affected individuals include engineers, nursing home administrators, certified public accountants and other professionals.

Individuals who feel they may have been affected can contact the Division of Professional Licensure.

Thieves stole two computers from the Pennsylvania Public Welfare Agency that contained the personal records of people who receive medial assistance benefits for the treatment of mental health and substance abuse problems. The information stored on the computers included the names and Social Security numbers of people receiving benefits.

The department of Public Welfare has begun the process of notifying close to 375,000 people who receive benefits and who could potentially be affected by the thefts. The department is notifying patients of the steps they can take to avoid and identify identity theft.

Source: "Computers stolen from Pa. public-welfare agency had consumer info," Sept. 11, Associated Press.

Purdue University has notified 111 students that their personal information was inadvertently posted on the Internet. The information included the names and Social Security numbers of students in an Animal Sciences class that was held in the fall of 2004. The information was removed when it was discovered by a University Employee who reported the breach to Purdue's chief information security officer (CISO).

Source: The Indianapolis Star

The personal information of 106,000 Connecticut state taxpayers was put at risk when a laptop was stolen from the state's Department of Revenue Services. The laptop contained the names and Social Security numbers of 10% of the state's taxpayers.

The Department of Revenue Services has set up a toll-free number for victims and the state plans to launch a section on their web site for taxpayers to determine if they are affected by the theft. The web site will also attempt to educate victims on how to alert the three major credit reporting agencies.

If you believe you may have been affected by this incident please contact the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services or go to http://www.ct.gov/drs

The personal financial data of almost 300,000 New York City retirees could be in the hands of identity thieves after a laptop was stolen from a midtown Manhattan restaurant.

The computer belonged to a private consultant working for the City's Financial Information Services Agency.

The information possibly included the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and pension amounts.

There is potentially some good news for affected retires. It is believed that the sensitive information on the computer may have been encrypted. This has yet to be confirmed.

Source: "Laptop stolen containing city retirees' data," Aug. 23, New York Daily News.

California State Pension System Exposes Social Security Numbers on Print Brochures

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CaIPERS) exposed all or part of the recipient's SSN on the address panel of a brochure sent to retirees. The error occurred when the staff did not recognize that the file contained social security numbers.

Approximately 445,000 retirees are affected.

Source: "Apology sent over CaIPERS privacy error," August 22, Sacramento Bee.