September 21, 2009:
Pearisburg, Va Police Officer arrests a man during routine traffic stop.
The suspect had the names, addresses, DOB and SSN for 11,000 local individuals.

Identity theft happens in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. So much for this being a “big city” problem.

ID Theft in 2008 – 1 in 5 Americans victimized in 2008. 1 in 2 by 2011 (FTC).

• Averages:$92,000 of fraudulent charges, 87 bad checks, 8 credit lines, 600 hrs to fix credit, 3-4 times more likely to be victimized again (Garner/FBI).
• Percentages: 69% increase in identity theft for 2008, 163 % increase in employee (insider) theft of customer/employee records, 78% of Americans are concerned about identity theft (ITRC).
• Types of ID theft: Financial – new bank accounts, credit cards, car loans  that are not repaid in your name, Social Security – owe taxes and garnished wages, Medical – owe medical bills and contaminated records, Criminal – outstanding warrant(s), Driver’s license – outstanding warrants w/ suspended or revoked license and possible criminal charges.

Do your employees know how to treat Non-Public Information, i.e.. customer/employee data?

“Elected officials who publish private information contained in public records cannot rely on official immunity as a defense according to a recent Ohio appeals court ruling.”

“This is an enormously important development in the law which needs to be clarified. It’s important because in today’s world, a great deal of mischief can be done if private information…. gets into the hands of the wrong people”, said Marc Mezibov, attorney for Cynthia Lambert.

News for Public Officials – “Immunity No Defense for Official Website Content”