One ID Pro Blog

Around 22,000 Social Security numbers of Delaware state government retirees have been inadvertently posted online by a government contractor.

Aon Consulting included the Social Security numbers, gender and birthdates of about 22,000 Delaware state government retirees in a request for proposals for insurance companies interested in providing vision coverage to employees and retirees.  Retirees affected included teachers, state police and the judiciary.

That information was posted on the state’s procurement website, a mistake that went undetected for from August 16th to August 20th.  The information was taken down once it was discovered.

Aon is a multinational corporation with offices in more than 120 countries.

Insurers need age and other information on the pool of people to be covered in order to prepare a bid, Aon Consulting spokesman Joe Micucci said Monday.  He said that is normally done by using a random series of digits assigned to individuals to shield their identity, not their Social Security numbers.

However, “the information that should have been randomized was not,” Micucci said.

Letters are being sent to affected individuals who will be offered one year of free credit monitoring.  The company also will provide the retirees information on the steps needed to place a fraud alert on their files.

A federal judge granted final approval on a settlement between Countrywide Financial Corporation and around 17 million customers on Monday.  This was a result of a large data breach that left the large group at a high risk for identity theft.  

Bank of America, who now owns Countrywide, will provide free credit monitoring for the 17 million individuals whose financial information was exposed. The… Continue reading

The Ohio State Highway Patrol has seen the number of identity theft cases more than double this year.  Identity theft is a $10 million a year criminal business, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The increase in identity theft cases in the past year is alarming and continues to grow. The Ohio State Highway Patrol says it has investigated 248 cases so far this year, compared to 114 by… Continue reading

More and more young children our becoming victims of identity theft at an alarming rate.  Often times they are completely unaware of the theft until many years later.  They do not find out until they attempt to get a college loan, credit card, or purchase a car and are denied.

Hundreds of online businesses are finding inactive Social Security numbers online, mostly assigned to children 18 and younger who… Continue reading

A Blue Cross Blue Shield employee has been charged with stealing identities of members.  Blue Cross Blue Shield said Latonia Davis a former employee tried to obtain credit by using health insurance information of 15 members.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office recently arrested Davis, 32, on a charge of identity theft.  Blue Cross Blue Shield said Davis is no longer an employee.

“Although this is an isolated incident… Continue reading

Individuals with diabetes have been targeted in a recent identity theft scam.  The identity theft scam is effective because the identity thieves know the intended victim has diabetes.

The identity theft scheme was first discovered in Mississippi. It was reported that diabetics were receiving phone calls from identity thieves claiming to be from the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi and the American Diabetes Association. The thieves were requesting… Continue reading

South Shore Hospital has informed around 800,000 individuals that their personal information may have been exposed.  This includes the personal information of patients, employees, donors, and other partners affiliated with the institution.

South Shore Hospital which is located in South Weymouth, Massachusetts posted the data breach notification on its website earlier this week. The hospital is in the process of personally notifying the affected individuals via conventional mail.  The… Continue reading

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal believes The Connecticut Teachers’ Retirement Board owes its members identity theft protection and an explanation after waiting six months to inform them they lost a flash drive containing their personal information.

Blumenthal is urging the board to give the 58,000 plus members identity theft protection for two years and provide them with more details of how the flash drive vanished and exactly what… Continue reading

Citizens Property Insurance is in the process of warning policy holders that their checks may not have been received.  The public insurance carrier said someone filled out a change of address form at the post office for Citizens headquarters, redirecting the company’s mail to an apartment in Hialeah, Florida.

The company fears customers’ checks could be fraudulently cashed, and others risk having their identities stolen.

“Because the post office can’t… Continue reading

Anthem Blue Cross has notified around 230,000 of its applicants that their personal information may have been exposed.  The personal information included medical records and Social Security numbers.

This recent data breach is believed to be linked to a systems upgrade completed last October. A third-party security vendor certified that all proper privacy safeguards were in place.   Evidently they were not secure enough.

The individuals whose data was been exposed… Continue reading