Blast from the Past: Choicepoint and the 2000 election

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/02/16/BUGM0BBHU01.DTL

[Computer break-in imperils Californians
Thousands could become victims of identity theft
Verne Kopytoff, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Criminals may have stolen personal data of 35,000 Californians by infiltrating computers at ChoicePoint Inc., a company that keeps background information on virtually every U.S. citizen.

The electronic break-in raises the risk of widespread identity theft, in which criminals drain bank accounts or run up big credit card bills under other people's names. Six cases related to the ChoicePoint case have already been reported in Los Angeles County, according to the Associated Press.

ChoicePoint of Alpharetta, Ga., sent letters to the 35,000 potentially affected people last week, warning them that their personal data may have been illegally accessed. Only Californians are believed to have been affected, the company said.

ChoicePoint was informed of the intrusion by law enforcement in October. It waited to tell consumers, as is required by law in California, at the request of authorities so as not to interfere with their investigation.

On Oct. 27, California sheriff deputies arrested Olatunji Oluwatosin, 41, when the Nigerian national went to his Los Angeles office to receive a fax ostensibly from ChoicePoint, the Associated Press reported.

He's been in jail since then and is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles County Court on Thursday.

Robert Costa, the lieutenant in charge of Southern California's High Tech Task Force Identity Theft Detail, said agents believe several other people were involved.

"We believe that this is probably a pretty large, sophisticated ring and unfortunately all we got was a shard of glass," Costa told the Associated Press. "It definitely could not have been limited to Southern California."

The criminals gained access to ChoicePoint's computers by posing as legitimate businesses, using stolen identities, ChoicePoint said. In all, they created up to 50 different accounts.

"It's the kind of thing you can only catch after the fact," said James Lee, chief marketing officer for ChoicePoint.

ChoicePoint keeps 19 billion public records on U.S. citizens. Data include names, addresses, Social Security numbers and credit reports. Insurance companies, government agencies, law enforcement and other customers use the service for background checks, among other things.

ChoicePoint has warned those who received letters to review their credit reports for unauthorized activity and any sign of identity theft.

Lillie Coney, associate director for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy watchdog group, said the break-in illustrates the need for companies like ChoicePoint to be federally regulated. They are not covered now by financial privacy laws that apply to credit reporting agencies.

"It's unfortunate that this incident happened, but it highlights the need to legislate the industry," Coney said.

Lee, from ChoicePoint, said his company welcomes regulation and strict penalties for intentional misuse of personal data.

E-mail Verne Kopytoff at vkopytoff [at] sfchronicle.com.]







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